Speech #810183820

But the amendment. which had been offered by the Senator from Michigan . was defeated. Instead. we provided in section 10 of the act thatNo eligible displaced person shall be admitted to the United States unless there shall have first been a thorough Investigation and written report made and prepared by such agency of the Government of the United States as the President shall designate regarding such persons character. history. and eligibility under the act. It was assumed by those of us who helped draft the present law. both in the conference committee and during the debate. that the President would designate an agency with trained personnel skilled in immigration matters. It was. therefore. possible to circumvent the intent of Congress only after the President. on th fourth day of October 1948. designated the Displaced Persons Commission as the agency to select and screen displacedperson applicants. The bill. as amended by the committee. restores the congressional intent by providing that the final determination of eligibility of applicants. both under the displacedpersons law and under the general immigration laws. shall be made exclusively by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the American Foreign Service acting through citizens of the United States who have not less than 3 years experience in the Immigration and Naturalization Service or the American Foreign Service. thereby insuring that this important determination shall be made by United States citizens trained in immigration matters. Section 2 of the law provides for assurances under the act and. among other things. requires that every displaced person "shall have an assurance that such person. If admitted into the United States. will be suitably employed without displacing some other person from employment and that such person. and the members of such persons family. who shall accompany such person and who propose to live with such person. shall not become public charges and will have safe and sanitary housing without displacing some other person from such housing." Congress intended that such assurances must be bona fide and binding upon the sponsor of a displaced person.