Speech #810211248

President. this amendment begins on page 18. in line 15. and continues through line 3 on page 20. This is a new section. amending section 10 of the present act. It would have the effect of giving the Immigration and Naturalization Service. and the American Foreign Service. a veto power with respect to determination of eligibility. The Intent of the present lawand it Is specifically stated In the actwas that the administration of the act would be performed by those officials of the Government of the United States who administer the other immigration laws. During debate on the bill which became the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. the junior Senator from Michigan offered an amendment designed to give the Displaced Persons Commission the general power of administration of the act. including the power to determine eligibility of applicants. The amendment was defeated by a very substantial vote. Nevertheless. the Displaced Persons Commission today. under administrative interpretation of the law. is exercising substantially the power which the Senate voted it should not have. The present law provides that no eligible displaced person shall be admitted into the United States unless there shall first have 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. The Displaced Persons Commission has been designated as the agency of the Government to make the investigation and prepare the report. and therefore is now exercising the prerogatives which the Congress contemplated would be vested in the officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. And the Displaced Persons Commission accepts the findings of the IRO. It has been charged that the provisions of this committee amendment would mean setting up duplicate staffs in Europe to do identical work. That is not the case. What the amendment will do is to place the final authoritythe "veto power." if you choose to call it thaton the responsible agencies of the United States Government which administer the general immigration laws. and to provide that this discretionary responsibility shall be exercised in all cases through American citizens who are trained and experienced in their jobs. and who are in the employ of the United States Government and under the control of the United States Government. The straightup principle involved is whether we want to continue a situation under which aliens not responsible to the Government of the United States are making decisions. with respect to the eligibility of other aliens to enter the United States. and are making those decisions stick even when the officials charged with the administration of the other immigration laws may feel that those decisions are erroneous or should be questioned.