Speech #700110963

This bill preserves the quota restrictions by adinitting certain relitives of foreignborn people here within the restrictions of the quota so as not to increase the body of our immigrationto bring them to join their relatives here within the quota. There has been a strenuous effort for many years to admit numbers ranging from a few thousand to several hundred thousand relatives of immigrants outside the quota. which would add that much to the volume. We here reject that idea and require that such relatives as are admitted come within the quota. thereby preventing any substantial increase in the volume of our immigration. hut at the same time permitting the greatest possible number of divided families to reunite themselves in a manner consistent with our policy to permit no increase of immigration. It does two things in that respect: First. it stops families from dividing themselves. Uncle Sam has never divided any families. It tends to stop families from dividing themselves and allows greater portions of the quotas to be used by relatives of those who have already legally coine so as to reunite the families which have divided themselves. There are three small exceptions to the statement that such relatives must come within the quota. The original immigration act of 1924. as presented to the House and passed by it. provided that the husband of an American citizen shouldcome to join the wife. just as the present law provides that the wife of an American citizen should come to join her husband. It was changed before the legislation was finally enacted. so that the husband of the citizen wife could not be admitted to join her. This bill restores that provision to the law.