A-6449236.
Decided by Board October 29, 1953.
Subversive — E.A.M., Greece — Suspension of deportation not granted to E.A.M. member.
In view of respondent's membership in E.A.M. in Greece from 1942 to April 1945 and the relationship between the Communist Party and the E.A.M., the grant of suspension of deportation is not warranted.
CHARGE:
Warrant: Act of 1924 — Remained longer-student.
BEFORE THE BOARD
Discussion: This case is before us on appeal from an order entered by the special inquiry officer on May 13, 1953, denying suspension of deportation but granting voluntary departure with the provision that if the alien fails to depart when and as required he is to be deported from the United States on the charge contained in the warrant of arrest. The appeal is directed to the denial of suspension of deportation.
The respondent is a 32-year-old married male, a native and citizen of Greece. His only entry into the United States occurred at the port of New York on September 27, 1946, when he was admitted as a student until June 2, 1947. He was last granted an extension of stay until February 12, 1950. Deportability on the charge contained in the warrant of arrest is established.
The respondent's wife, to whom he was married in December 1948, is a native-born citizen of the United States. They have two children, 3 and 2 years of age, both of whom were born in Texas. Respondent predicates his application for suspension of deportation on serious economic detriment to his citizen wife and two minor citizen children. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston in June 1951. He is now employed as a life insurance salesman and earns approximately $75 a week. His assets amount to about $4,050. Respondent stated that before coming to the United States he had belonged to a Greek organization known as E.A.M. He further stated that these initials stand for Ethnikon Apeleftherotikon Matopom and that it means National Liberation Front. He said that this organization stood for the liberation and accumulation of information which was passed over to the Allies but that after liberation had turned into a political group with rather strong communistic influence. He related that after he left his native Kastron, Limnos, Greece, about April 1945 he terminated his membership in the E.A.M. He testified that he ceased being a member by the change of residence from Limnos to Athens and by not getting in touch with or doing anything for the organization. He asserted that he stopped being a member of the E.A.M. because of its political tendencies toward Communism. He said that the Communist Party "dominated the E.A.M. all along and we didn't realize it."
Respondent testified that his parents and three sisters reside in his native village in Greece. He stated that his eldest sister is married and that her husband, A---- N----, belonged to the Communist Party but that he understands that A---- N---- has renounced it. He admitted that N---- had discussed Communism and its principles with him and had asked him to join the Communist Party. To the question "Did you ever join the Communist Party of Greece?" respondent replied, "That's something I don't know. They had no rituals or ceremonies. I could be considered as a member of the Communist Party. E.A.M. and the Communist Party were so badly linked together we didn't know where we belonged."
Respondent testified that he joined the Epon organization about 1942 and that Epon was the youth organization of the E.A.M. He stated that his brother-in-law asked him to join Epon and that he remained in Epon "all along" and was representing the "youth" in the E.A.M. He said that he does not have any of the membership cards in his possession as he threw them away. He admitted having been a member of the Epon and E.A.M. organizations of Greece and that these organizations were affiliated with the Communist Party. He further admitted that he was considered a member of the Communist Party of Greece and that he considered himself to be a member of that party for about 2 or 3 months until he broke off from them.
Respondent asserted that he has not contacted any member of the Communist Party or its affiliates in the United States since his arrival in this country. He further asserted that he has as much hate as any American for the Communist Party today. He said "I fully understand their destructive program because I got a glimpse of the inside. I am willing to do anything to prove that."
Counsel urges that at its inception the E.A.M. was a patriotic liberation movement. One of the sources of material quoted in part by counsel is a book called The Greek Dilemma by William Hardy McNeill, published by J.B. Lippincott Company, and copyrighted in 1947. According to counsel, on page 90 of his book, Mr. McNeill says:
The energy and enthusiasm mobilized by E.A.M. was tremendous. Most of its members were inspired by honest and lofty motives and most profoundly believed in the righteousness of their cause. Yet despite their good intentions E.A.M. began to undergo a complicated transformation and degeneration in the months after the summer of 1943. Patriotism and self-sacrifice, high enthusiasm and warm social idealism, all came to serve an intolerant, ruthless and power-hungry political machine which by its excesses, helped to create an irreconciliable opposition to itself and to bring on the miseries of civil war.
We note from this quote that according to Mr. McNeill the transformation and degeneration of the E.A.M. commenced in 1943. The record shows that respondent's membership in the E.A.M. did not terminate at about the time of this "transformation and degeneration" but that although Greece was liberated in the latter part of 1944, respondent remained a member until his departure from Limnos in April 1945 and that he considered himself a member of the Communist Party for about two or three months.
In view of respondent's membership in the E.A.M. in Greece and the relationship between the Communist Party and the E.A.M., we do not feel that suspension of deportation is warranted in the instant case. After due consideration of the record and representations made, we believe that in being granted voluntary departure, the respondent has been given the maximum relief justified in this case. Consequently, the appeal will be dismissed.
Order: It is ordered that the appeal be and the same is hereby dismissed.