Speech #800179546

The President is unswervingly opposed to any legislation which discriminates in this way against any. of the great racial strains in our populationwhether the discrimination is for reasons of race. nationality. or religion. The President also deplores the fact that in one bill reported out of committee an attempt is made to change the emergencyrelief nature of his proposal and of the proposals of the great religious. labor. business. veterans. and other organizations of this country. They all feel. as he does. that the problem of displaced persons and refugees must be dealt with as an emergency. outside the quotas established under the regular immigration laws. If there be any need to justify the humanitarian proposal he has made. and which so many American organizations are supporting. that justification can be found in one simple factduring the war. when immigrants could not get into this country. almost a million immigrants could have come here but for the war. The stream of immigration was almost completely dried up for 5 years. Now to admit. as an emergency measure. over the next few years. several hundred thousand displaced persons and refugees. will provide for the immigration of only a portion of the total number which could have come in during war years andwere unable to come here. Despite these facts. one of the pending bills reported out of committee seeks to prevent further immigration under the regular immigration law. to the extent of a large portion of the immigration which would come in under this emergency bill. As a result. after this emergency problem is solved. all persons of certain racial and national stocks. which in the past have contributed to some of the very best in our population. would be denied for many decades to come the privilege of immigrating into our country. In some cases. this bar would be in existence for 150 years. The President said to me that it is unfortunate that. after many of the greatest organizations in the United States have put their strength solidly behind a great humanitarian program. any bill should be reported out of committee which. in effect. disregards that program and substitutes something entirely different. Mr. Piesident. instead of a humanitarian program true to the highest traditions of our Nation. a bill is reported out of committee which would place a mortgage on the future and on generations of unborn children. some of whom might seek to come to this country as immigrants. Such a bill would deprive us of the opportunity to practice the humanitarian principles of our Nation. The bill requires unborn children of future generations abroad to become humanitarians at their own expense. so that the refugees from World War II may now be given a haven and a fresh opportunity to live their lives. The President still strongly advocates what the many organizations who support his program have urged. He opposes all compromises which undermine that program and run counter to our Nations basic principles.