Speech #630384871

Mr. President. since I favor this bill with the literacy test included. I find myself unable to support the amendment proposed by the Senator from Colorado . The bill itself contains this language: That the following classes of persons shall be exempt from the operation of the illiteracy test. to wit: All aliens who shall prove to the sitisfaction of the proper immigration officer or to the Secretary of Labor that they emigrated from the country of which they were last permanent residents solely for the purpose of escaping from religious persecution. -For that language the Senator from Colorado proposes to substitute the following: That the following classes of persons. when otherwise qualifled for admission under the laws of the United States. shall be exempt from the operation of the illiteracy test. to wit : All aliens who shall prove to the satisfaction of the proper Immigration officer or to the *Secretary of Labor that they are seeking admission to the United States to avoid religious. political. or racial persecution. whether such persecution be evidenced by overt acts or by discriminatory laws or regulations. It will be observed. Mr. President. that the amendment proposed by the Senator from Colorado not only broadens the classes by including two classes that are not at all included in the language of the bill as reported by the committee.*but also weakens. very much the provisions of the exemption suggested by the committee. The language proposed by the committee is In the case of religious persecution that this test shall not apply when these aliens can "prove to the satisfaction of the proper immigration officer or the Secretary of Labor that they emigrated from the country of which they were last permanent residents solely for the purpose of escaping from religious persecution." On the other hand. the language of the amendment of the Senator from Colorado is much weaker than that. and merely provides that the immigrants shall be exempted from this literacy test when they are seeking admission into the United States to -avoid " religious. political. or racial persecution." Then the provision is still further weakened and the floodgates opened still wider by the concluding language of the Senators amendment: Whether such persecution be evidenced by overt acts or by discriminatory laws or regulations. When this great war shall have been concluded and the nations of the earth readjust themselves again to the conditions that may then exist it will doubtless be possible for almost every immigrant who seeks. admission to our shores to claim with some degree of plausibility that he is endeavoring to escape. in part at least. political or racial persecution. I think I voice the sentiment not only of the chairman of the committee. but all the other members of the committee. when I say it seems to us that to so broaden the exception would be virtually to emasculate and destroy the literacy test. and that if this test i to perform the great function we think it will perform and that it is designed to perform it must be left without this amendment. for with this amendment it would be virtually destroyed. and almost every immigrant could escape or evade its provisions. Mr. President. we have listened to some very eloquent speeches on this subject based largely.