Special Message to the Congress on the Need for Additional Passport Control Legislation.

To the Congress of the United States:

Since the earliest days of our Republic, the Secretary of State has had the authority to issue or deny passports. Historically this authority stems from the Secretary's basic responsibilities as the principal officer of the President concerned with the conduct of foreign relations. Congress has over a period of years given the Secretary of State certain additional statutory authority in the field.

In recent years the Secretary of State has based his limitation of passports on two general grounds. The first of these has been that an applicant's travel, usually to a specific country or countries, was inimical to United States foreign relations. The second of the general grounds of denial has been that the applicant is a member of the Communist Party; is under Communist Party discipline, domination, or control; or that the applicant is traveling abroad to assist knowingly the International Communist Movement.

Recently the Supreme Court limited this power to deny passports under existing law. It is essential that the Government today have power to deny passports where their possession would seriously impair the conduct of the foreign relations of the United States or would be inimical to the security of the United States.

Moreover, the Secretary should have clear statutory authority to prevent Americans from using passports for travel to areas where there is no means of protecting them, or where their presence would conflict with our foreign policy objectives or be inimical to the security of the United States. Such grounds for restricting or denying passports may or may not have any connection with the International Communist Movement. They are, however, essential for the orderly conduct of our foreign relations and basic to the maintenance of our own national security.

In exercising these necessary limitations on the issuance of passports, the Executive Branch is greatly concerned with seeing to it that the inherent fights of American citizens are preserved. Any limitations on the right to travel can only be tolerated in terms of overriding requirements of our national security, and must be subject to substantive and procedural guarantees.

The Secretary of State will submit to the Congress a proposed draft of legislation to carry out these recommendations.

I wish to emphasize the urgency of the legislation I have recommended. Each day and week that passes without it exposes us to great danger. I hope the Congress will move promptly toward its enactment.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER