Speech #780122604

The Andrews bill. if enacted. would establish a racial basis as distinguished from the existing system of determining quotas in accordance with national contributions to our population. By this method and a requirement that only 25 percent of the quota be given to Chinese born and resident in countries other than China. the intolerable evils attendant on giving China real equality with other quota countries whose citizens are now eligible to citizenship in the United States. are obviated. Unfortunately. this result would be just as discriminatory. and perhaps more so. than the present system which tieats all Asiatics on exactly the same basis. Mr. President. the provision of the act of 1924. excluding persons ineligible to citizenship in the United States was written into that act on economic grounds. Congress never took the position that the white race was superior to the Mongolian or other Asiatic races. Congress was. In fact. concerned over the indisputable fact that the white race Is unable to compete with Asiatics In any industrial or agricultural enterprise in which labor costs dete:mine success or failure. If Congress can be said to have taken a position which by implication raises the question of racial superiority or inferiority. it must be admitted to have conceded the superiority of Asiatics as compared with whites. The Andrews bill would establish a dangerous precedent by creating a racial quota as distinguished from the national quotas under which immigrants now enter from all quota countries whose citizens are eligible for citizenship in the United States. Such a precedent might be capitalized by antiSemites because of the fact that people of the Hebrew race now come into the United Stats as nationals of the country of their birth. By reason of this fact. 43.450 Hebrews entered the United States in 1939. out of a total lawful immigration of 82.998 of all races. Under a racial quota. applicable to Hebrews. probably less than 6.000 could have entered the United States in any 1 year. As ithas been aliays opposed to the promotion df antiSemitism. it regards the introduction of the principle of racial quotas into our Immigration laws as a grave menace to national unity. It will be seen that the Andrews bill does not place China on a parity with other quota nations whose citizens are eligible for qitizenship in the United States. Therefore. this bill. S. 1404. is no answer to the charge of discrimination against the Chinese. If they do not meet this requirement. they. are not only a futile gesture but they ard % gesture which threatens a colossal breach in our immigration barriers. It can indeed be said that H. R. 3070 and S. 1404 threatens a breach in our immigration barriers because inasmuch as they will inevitably fail to satisfy the Chinese. the next step will be to open wide the flood gates of a Chinese migration into the United States. Furthermore. if this bill should be enacted it is difficult to see how Congress could consistently refuse to grant to other Asiatic states or races equality with the Chinese. As the quota list now stands. that policy would immediately add approximately 2.000 Asiatic immigrants as admissible for entry under the minimum quotas now assigned. Also. many thousands of Asiatics now resident. in the United States would become eligible for citizenship. When naturalized. these Asiatics of all races. including the Chinese. will be entitled to bring in an endless chain of relatives. The persistent introduction of special bills to legalize the entry of individual Asiatics of various racial origins and the propaganda circulated for their passage is good evidence of the fact that as soon as thi Andrews bill Is passed. if it should be passed. a campaign for its extension to other Asiatic peoples will be initiated. The argument that the British India people are entitled to entry and to naturalization because they are fighting Japan would be identical with and just as cogent as that used to pass the Andrews bill in the Senate. Should British India disintegrate Into its component States and minimum quotas be assigned on the present basis to such States. we could reasonably expect a migration of from ten to fifty thousand Asiatics a year. over and above the 105 Chinese to be admitted if the Andrews bill should be enacted. There is. of course. a solution to this problem which can offend no race and no nation. That is. the enactment of total exclusion of all immigration. except the wives and minor children of persons lawfully resident in the United States. If Congress adopts this policy. it may then. but only then. be justified in repealing the prohibition against the naturalization of Chinese who are now lawful residents of the United States. Inasmuch as the number of unemployed in the United States during the 10 years preceding our entry into the war ranged from 8.000.000 to 10.000.000 people. and even more on occasion. is it not reasonable to suggest to Congress that it hold all American jobs. even 105 American jobs. as a sacred trust for the men and women in our armed forces now engaged in war? These men and women are battling enemies who are seeking to conquer the United States by force of arms. How can Congress. therefore. justify a grant of permission to any race of people the privilege of conquering our country by peaceful infiltration of immigrants through breaches in our immigration laws. Mr. President. I have prepared a statement containing a review of facts pertinent to this question. which I wish to present at this time. First. The original controversy between China and Japan arose over the inspired immigration of Japanese subjects into Manchuria. These Japanese subjects leased lands from Chinese peasants and when the Chinese landlords sought to resume occupancy of the lands on the expiration of the leases. the Japanese tenants would not give up the properties. The Chinese landlords naturally organized into bands to expel their tenants. and then the Japanese Government publicized to the world that these landlords were bandits.