347 U.S. 522 (U.S. 1954)
Galvan v. Press stands as a central case in the Supreme Court's mid-20th century immigration jurisprudence, reinforcing the breadth of Congress's authority to regulate the presence of noncitizens and to make political affiliation a ground for removal.
Whether Congress may constitutionally authorize the deportation of a resident alien based on past membership in the Communist Party after entry, including membership that ended before the statute's enactment, and whether the evidence and procedures used in Galvan's case satisfied the applicable legal standards.
Congress possesses plenary power over the admission and expulsion of aliens; deportation is a civil, nonpunitive measure within that power. Accordingly, (1) the Ex Post Facto and Bill of Attainder Clauses do not apply to deportation statutes; (2) Congress may make past membership in designated organizations a ground for deportation, and may do so retroactively, provided minimal due process requirements of fair procedure are met; and (3) findings of deportability must be supported by adequate evidence under the governing evidentiary standards for deportation proceedings.
The Supreme Court upheld the deportation order. It concluded that Congress could constitutionally make prior membership in the Communist Party after entry a ground for deportation and could apply that ground to membership occurring before the statute's enactment. The Court found no constitutional violation and determined that the evidence sufficiently established Galvan's voluntary CPUSA membership under the applicable standards.
Galvan is a cornerstone of the plenary power doctrine in immigration law. It reaffirms that courts will defer to Congress's judgments about who may remain in the United States, even where those judgments implicate political affiliation and expressive conduct. The decision underscores that deportation is treated as a civil measure, insulating immigration statutes from key criminal-constitutional constraints. While later decisions (e.g., Rowoldt v. Perfetto and related cases) narrowed the statutory reach by requiring that Communist Party membership be "meaningful" or knowing to support deportation, Galvan remains vital for understanding constitutional deference in immigration, the permissibility of retroactive grounds of removal, and the limited role of First Amendment protections for noncitizens in removal contexts. Historically, Congress eventually eliminated deportability for Communist Party membership (while retaining related inadmissibility provisions), but Galvan's framework continues to inform modern debates over ideologically based immigration restrictions and the scope of judicial review.