Editing Palmer Raids (section)

===Preparations===
In June 1919, Attorney General Palmer told the [[United States House Committee on Appropriations|House Appropriations Committee]] that all evidence promised that radicals would "on a certain day...rise up and destroy the government at one fell swoop." He requested an increase in his budget to [[U.S. Dollars|$]]2,000,000 from $1,500,000 to support his investigations of radicals, but Congress limited the increase to [[U.S. Dollars|$]]100,000.{{sfn|Hagedorn|2007|pages=229–30}}{{sfn|Coben|1963|page=211}}

An initial raid in July 1919 against an anarchist group in [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], [[New York (state)|New York]], achieved little when a federal judge tossed out Palmer's case. He found in the case that the three arrested radicals, charged under a law dating from the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], had proposed transforming the government by using their [[freedom of speech|free speech]] rights and not by violence.{{sfn|Pietrusza|2007|pages=146–7}} That taught Palmer that he needed to exploit the more powerful immigration statutes that authorized the deportation of [[alien (law)|alien]] [[anarchist]]s, violent or not. To do that, he needed to enlist the cooperation of officials at the Department of Labor. Only the Secretary of Labor could issue warrants for the arrest of alien violators of the Immigration Acts, and only he could sign deportation orders following a hearing by an immigration inspector.{{sfn|Coben|1963|pages=217–8}}

On August 1, 1919, Palmer named 24-year-old [[J. Edgar Hoover]] to head a new division of the Justice Department's [[Federal Bureau of Investigation#Beginnings: The Bureau of Investigation|Bureau of Investigation]], the [[FBI Index#General Intelligence Division|General Intelligence Division]] (GID), with responsibility for investigating the programs of radical groups and identifying their members.{{sfn|Coben|1963|pages=207–9}} The [[Boston Police Strike]] in early September raised concerns about possible threats to political and social stability. On October 17, the Senate passed a unanimous resolution demanding Palmer explain what actions he had or had not taken against radical aliens and why.{{sfn|Coben|1963|pages=214–5}}

At 9&nbsp;p.m. on November 7, 1919, a date chosen because it was the second anniversary of the [[Bolshevik]] revolution, agents of the Bureau of Investigation, together with local police, executed a series of well-publicized and violent raids against the [[Union of Russian Workers]] in 12 cities. Newspaper accounts reported some were "badly beaten" during the arrests. Many later swore they were threatened and beaten during questioning. Government agents cast a wide net, bringing in some American citizens, passers-by who admitted being Russian, some not members of the Russian Workers. Others were teachers conducting night school classes in space shared with the targeted radical group. Arrests far exceeded the number of warrants. Of 650 arrested in New York City, the government managed to deport just 43.{{efn-ua|Post says eleven cities.{{sfn|Coben|1963|pages=219–21}} ''Cf.'', {{sfn|Post|2010|pages=28–35}}}}

When Palmer replied to the Senate's questions of October 17, he reported that his department had amassed 60,000 names with great effort. Required by the statutes to work through the Department of Labor, they had arrested 250 dangerous radicals in the November 7 raids. He proposed a new Anti-Sedition Law to enhance his authority to prosecute anarchists.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1919/11/16/archives/palmer-for-stringent-law-attorney-general-asks-senate-for-sedition.html|title=PALMER FOR STRINGENT LAW; Attorney General Asks Senate for Sedition Act to Fit Reds. NEW PUNISHMENT PLAN He Would Send All Aliens from Country and Denaturalize Convicted Citizens. TELLS OF REDS' ACTIVITIES Work of Union of Russians Revealed--472 Publications Preaching Anarchy. The Attorney General's Letter. PALMER FOR STRINGENT LAW Penal Code Test Case. Where the Laws Are Weak. Difficulties of Deportation. Many "Red" Publications. Radical Papers Increase. Proposed Anti-Sedition Law. ASKS FOR IRON-CLAD LAWS. Mayor of Portland Appeals to Senate for Immediate Legislation|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=16 November 1919}}{{subscription}}</ref>