Speech #690145694

Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. this bill . which is a bill to provide for the deportation of certain aliens. and for other purposes. is being considered under suspension of rules. which restricts extended discussion of its provisions. For this reason I wish to avail myself of the privilege granted me by the House to extend my remarks oi this important legislation. The immigration acts of 1917 and 1924 may be considered to represent the settled policy of this Government to limit the entry into this country of undesirable and dangerous aliens. The present proposed act of 1926 is an extension of the provisions of these acts. The act of 1917 restricts the number of immigrants by excluding certain classes. For example. idiots. Imbeciles. feebleminded persons. epileptics. insane persons. persons with chronic alcoholism. paupers. professional beggars. vagrants. persons afflicted with tuberculosis. persons who have been convicted or admit having committed a felony or other crime or misdemeanors involving moral turpitude. polygamnists. anarchists. and other persons who are liable to make undesirable contributions to our citizenship. Desirable and necessary as was this act. only to a limited extent did It restrict the number of applications for entrance to this country. During the fiscal year which ended June 30. 1919. we admitted 141.132 immigrants. During the following fiscal year admission leaped to 430.001. In the year which ended Ju ne 30. 1921. we admitted immigrants to the staggering total of 805.228. more than 2.500 for every workingday. We were rapidly approaching the high level of 1907. when the number was 1.285.349. and of 1914. when it was 1.218.480. It became increasingly evident that steps must be taken to raise a barrier to check the Inundating flood. else our American institutions and ideals would suffer at the hands of those who can not understand the basic principles underlying our Government. The immigration act of 1921. signed by President Harding. was the result. It established a new Idea In handling this perplexing problem by establishing quotas of immigrants from the various countries of Europe. Quotas were allocated upon the basis of alien representatives among the residents of the United States. The 1910 census was used as a basis for this computation. and it was provided there slould be admitted 8 per cent as many English.