Speech #670409150

Mr. Chairman. I shall very greatly appreciate the indulgence of the committee if I may be permitted to speak out of order for the time for which I have been recognized to briefly call the attention of the committee to the subject of our immigration policy. our present inmigration law. and proposed amendments thereto. I think I should state at this point that I am in favor of the policy of restriction of immigration Into the United States. I favor the provision in the House Immigration and Naturalization Committees substitute report for Senate Report No. 4092. which reduces the quota from 3 per cent in the present law to 2 per cent. Of course. no general analysis of the bill can be presented in the time allowed. What I desire more especially to do -at this time is to direct your attention to what I regard as being very grave defects in the present law. First. I shall refer to the percentage or quota basis of the present law. It will be remembered that this law was substituted in the Senate for a bill based on administrative provision similar to the subdivisions A and B in section 4 of this bill. which provides for the admission of certain relatives of American citizens outside of the quota or as nonquola .Immigrants. It passed the House without serious opposition on March 20. 1920. 1 believe it shouldehave become the law. And i hile I do not know what may have been in the minds -of the Members of the other bod.y of the Congress when considering the 3 per cent quota provisionI do not know what consideration may have been given to the administrative features of their substituteI do know that circumstances have .developed which have baffled .all the calculation .of its friends and have furnished the strongest weapons of assault in the hands of its opponents. Already twice in the course of its less than two years of operation has the very able chairman of the Immigration Committee reported resolutions to admit aliens arriving at our ports in excess of quotas In order to relieve cases of extreme hardship and in each instance the House aind Senate have accorded the request. There is very grave doubt in tie minds of thinking persons who have given this very important subject much careful investigation that the present percentage quota basis is at all sound and cer.tainly two yeas of trial have proven its utter unworkability. I say the Congress should at once get towork and get some of the iron rigidity out of the law and get some flexibility. some humanity. into it.