The trouble Is that the present law is discriminatory against the northern and western nations of Europe. The present law works a great discrimination in favor of southern and eastern Europe. I can not regret too much the fact that the discussion of immigration has so often taken the turn of decrying this or that nationality and saying that we ought to discriminate against .them. I do not think we should discriminate against anybody. If it is evident to the Senate. as it is to me. that our quotas ought. roughly. to correspond with the national origins of our whole population. we can afford to be generous about it and include foreign born who are not citizens of the United States. Let us take everybody who at the time of the last census lived in this area which we call the United States. whether he was born here or born somewhere else. whether he is a citizen or an alien. Let us take all. and treat us as a group of human beings each of whom is entitled to be reflected in the quotas we establish. If we do that. then our quotas must necessarily resemble this apportionment of the whole population in 1920. disregarding. as they themselves would wish to be disregarded. the negro population of the country. because they do not want. and we (to not want. to allow great Immigration from African sources. That is selfevident to all of us. Taking. then. the white population of the United States. and dividing it into its national origins. we find that about 78 or 79 per cent come from northern and western Europe.
Keywords matched
Immigration immigration foreign born