Federal court rules for Harry Bridges, ending a 17-year deportation campaign

U.S. District Judge Louis Goodman ruled in favor of Harry Bridges on July 30, 1955, rejecting the federal government's final attempt to strip his citizenship and deport him on grounds of Communist Party affiliation, ending a campaign that had spanned four presidential administrations. The government had tried Bridges six times using hearings, criminal prosecutions for perjury, and civil denaturalization suits — all alleging he concealed Communist Party membership when he became a citizen in 1945. The Supreme Court had overturned his 1950 perjury conviction in 1953 on statute-of-limitations grounds, and the Justice Department declined to appeal Goodman's 1955 ruling. Bridges continued as ILWU president until 1977, and the case became a foundational example of the political abuse of immigration and naturalization law.