Speech #680072476

Mr. Speaker. within a few days we will consider H. R. 7995. entitled "A bill to limit immigration into the United States." The bill so reported is avowedly intended to restrict immigration and is confessedly discriminatory in its operation. The majority In their report. No. 176. accompanying H. R. 6540now superseded by H. I. 7995declared that " it is not the purpose of wellmeaning citizens to speak of any foreign peoples as undesirable." and correctly added that "tthe undesirable are the criminal. the insane. the pauper. and the other classes excluded by section 3 of the act of 1917 ". substantially the same remark is repeated by the majority ill its most recent report. The act of February 5. 1917. which is known as the basic immigration law. is in its essential nature a selective immigration law. It eliminates those who are mentally. morally. and physically unfit. those who are likely to become a public charge. anarchists and others opposed to organized government and who hold doctrines subversive to law and good order. The classes which come within these categories are numerous and are carefully defined in the act. A proper administration and enforcement of that statute would admit such immigrants only as are desirable according to the accurate meaning of that word and in the sense In which the .term was used in the majority report. No. 176. above referred to. It is important to emphasize this fact because of the general prevalence of the Idea that immigration should be selective. In their latest report the majority recognizes the futility of the idea prevalent in some qIuarters that Immigrants can be hand picked. Since. therefore. under the act of 1917 the immigration law is distinctly selective and admits only such immigrants as meet the strict and Intelligent tests of that legislation. any measure which imposes either arbitrary or adventttious tests destroys the underlying spirit of our national policy and is contrary to those theories the observance of which has hitherto contributed to the growth. development. and wealth of the Republic. By the act of May 19. 1921. as amended by that of May 11. 1922. a new rule of admission was adopted. which embodied what has become known as -the quota principle. Under its provisions the number of aliens of a given nationality admissible during a particular fiscal .year was limited to 3 per cent of the number of foreignborn persons of such nationality resident in the United States as determined -by the census of 1910. That year. 1919. was chosen because at the time of the drafting of the bill the majority of the committee claimed that the census :of 1920 was not available for this purpose. -Congress therefore made as a basis of calculation the latest accessible published figures derived from an enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States. Without undertaking at this time to enlarge upon our reasons. I express the )elief that the quota act is unsound and does not inure to the advantage either of the country or its industries. With full knowledge of all :the sufferings and hardships which the quota act imposed upon the immigrant. I indorse those provisions of the pending bill which seek to eliminate. in a measure. these severe. harsh. inhuman. and unworkable provisions of the present law. I shall not. however. at this time deal with the defects of the present law or with its cruelties and insufficiencies. which I anticipated and warned the Members of Congress would ensue upon the passage of the act. I shall address myself to the fundamental change which the bill as reported seeks to create and which In my opinion would .for many reasons prove unfortunate and indefensible. In substance. it seeks to limit the nuuber of quota immigrants to a minimum of 100 from the various countries. and in addition thereto 2 per cent of the number of foreignborn individuals of a particular .nationality resident In the United States as determined by the United States census of 1890. The changed factors in arriving at the number of admissible immigrants are. first. that of substituting for the census of 1910 that of 1890. and. secondly. of changing the rate from 3 per cent to 2 per cent. The effect of*this change would be to reduce the number of Immigrants to 161.988. aghinst the annual quota under the present law of 357.803. On a 2 per cent basis calculated on the census of 191.0 the number of admissible immigrants would be 239.930. and computed according to the census of 1920 would be 240.400. as shown by the following table: Estimated imii.gralton quotas based on esieus reports of 1890. 1900. 1910. and 1920--2 per cent plus 100 for Cach .natonality Estimated quotas based on 2 per cent.of census plus 100 Country or region of birth Census Census Census Census of 1890 o 1900 of 1910 of1920 A lbania ---------------------------------Armenia (Russian) ----------------------A ustria ----------------------------------B elgium ---------------------------------B ulgaria -------.. ------------.......... Czechoslovakla --------------------------D anzi. Free City of ---------------------D enmn irk ----------------.-.--------......