Speech #720023413

Syria ------------- 123 62 ---------- 502 ----.------8 years. lunania ----------- 295 147 515 641 35 years Do. Turkey ---------- -226 113 354 1.506 3 years .... 16 years. It is pertinent to state that the policy of the immigration officials of the Departments of State and Labor is to give preference within the quotas at all times to members of families. This policy shows results in the six months of the current fiscal year. when more than 63 per cent of all quota visas issued went to fathers. mothers. and husbands married after the limit date of May 31. 1928. These figures establish the fact that there is no basis for the assertion that there is any injustice being done to fathers and mothers and that there is no dire necessity for the efnactment of this bill. Another bill that is being propaganded is a bill that seeks to change the law so that American women may marry alien husbands and immediately bring their newly acquired spouses in as nonquota immigrants. The present law provides that husbands married after June 1. 1928. must come within the quota but are permitted to come within firstpreference classes. Quite a great deal of publicity has been given to this by an organization of "citizen wives" from New York. This organization numbers about 200. These wives are American citizens. but most of them were born abroad or are the children of alien parents naturalized and living here. These wives have. since the passage of the law of June. 1928. deliberately and with full knowledge of the law. married aliens whom they knew they could not bring in except under the law and within the quota. They immediately demand entrance for their husbands. and when they meet resistance while the departments have time to make investigations or when they are rejected by the departments. their cases are seized upon by propagandists and another plea for sympathy is sent out over the country. and the immigration laws are pictured as working terrible hardship in separating wives from their husbands. In practically every case of the great number that have come to my attention the woman left the United States for a visit in some central or southern European country. and while there she met and married within a few days a man that she is now seeking to have come in outside of all quotas. In practically every instance these girls married men who have no permanent employment and who had scarcely any earning capacity. The immigration authorities have given this class of cases every possible attention so as to facilitate the entrance of the deserving applicants. but to do so within the quotas. There is no great hardship shown in these cases. and in each of such cases the initial step in bringing on the condition complained of was taken by this complainant and not by the United States or any of its officials. There is no reason why the bars should be laid down for them. Rather is this the time to further restrict immigration. All the other countries of the world are becoming more strict in their entrance requirements. There is one complaint that those who are always seeking to throw down the bars are making that has some force.