Speech #710175693

I refer to the provision that not more than 1 per cent of any quota allowed to a foreign country shall be used by the colonial representatives of that country. That is designdd to meet the situation that is developIng from Jamaica and other British colonies in the West Indies. where the citizens are subject to the use of Great Britains quota for entrance into the Unted States. There is another provision that 50 per cent of the quotas shall be consumed. if necessary. by the relatives. and. if more than 50 per cent is needed for the use of relatives. that that also shall be extended. and. if less than 50 per cent is needed. then the remainder shall be used for occupational immigration. That. Mr. President. would establish a further restriction upon our immigration. in that it would encourage the uniting of families from southern Europe. whence many imnmigrants come with no intention to bring their families. This amendment leaves no other reasonable course open to them than to bring their families along. and in that way it becomes indirectly. of course a further limitation on immigration. I have had the bill studied by the experts on immigration in the Department of Labor. I asked them if they would give me an expert opinion as to the influence of this particular section. which is in many respects one of the most important features of the measure. outside of the great powers it will give to the board. The expression of the experts was that under the proposed bill certain relatives of United States citizens and the wives and minor children of lawfully resident aliens. to the extent of 50 per cent of the established quotas would have the privilege of joining their relatives in the United States. In the case of nationalities having quotas of not less than 300. the same 50 per cent of the quotas would be open to persons skilled in agriculture on equal terms with relatives of citizens and lawfully resident aliens. The remaining 50 per cent of the quotas and such parts of the first 50 per cent as are not used in issbing quota visas to relatives and persons skilled in agriculture would be put under the control of the Secretary of Labor to be administered under regulations prescribed by him with the approval of the Secretaries of State. Agriculture. and Commerce. Such regulations might be so drawn as to permit the Secretary of Labor to authorize the admission of additional relatives. provided the 50 per cent of the quotas specifically allotted to them was not sufficient to take care of appealing cases. On the other hand. such regulations might be drawn to provide that no immigrants except the relatives named could be admitted. or that immigration visas would be issued only to such aliens as are actually needed in the United States on a selective basis. The probable results of the proposed legislation would be that in the ease of nationalities where the relatives of residents named exceed the entire available quota. future immigration from such countries would be practically devoted to reuniting families. This would very likely occur in connection with the quotas of the following nationalities in which preferences for relatives. already authorized. are sufficient to exhaust the available quotas for from 1 to 15 years. These countries are: Albania.