Speech #810211250

Mr. President. the committee amendment provides. in effect. that the final determination of eligibility of an applicant. 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. both agencies acting through persons who are citizens of the United States. and who have had not less than 3 years experience in the Immgration and Naturalization Service or in the American Foreign Service. I wish to point out that what the amendment would really do would be to take away from the Displaced Persons Commission the right to turn any person down. and would give the right exclusively to the Immigration and Visa Services. The Senator from Michigan. together with the other Senators who are in favor of the substitute. feels very keenly that there should be a proper screening. We cannot be too thorough in the screening. Therefore. while the present law provides that the Visa Division of the State Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Justice Department should perform all the services under the laws which are now in existence. I have proposed an amendment to the substitute which makes it crystal clear that these two services are to perform their respective functions. notwithstanding the fact that the Displaced Persons Commission may also have a function to perform. Let me give you an illustration. "A" appears before the Displaced Persons Commission as a displaced person applying for admission into the United States. The commission investigates him to ascertain the date he arrived in the displacedpersons zone. and if the commission determines that he arrived at the proper date. then the Commission asks the Counter Intelligence of the United States Army to investigate him. and a thorough investigation is made. If the person in question is not admissible under the standards fixed by the displacedpersons law or the immigration law. the report of the investigating body should clearly show that fact. Then the Displaced Persons Commission can turn him down and say he is not admissible. Naturally he would not then come before the consul for a visa. But let us take the case of a person who is processed as far as the consul. Under the provisions of the amendment I shall offer. the consul must ascertain whether the person in question is a displaced person and also ascertain whether he is admissible. Let us assume the individual receives a visa. He must then go before the immigrant inspector for a preembarkation examination that goes over the same grounds of eligibility and admissibility. Again when the individual gets to Ellis Island. or whichever port he comes to. the Immigration Service does not rely upon what has been done by the Displaced Persons Commission or the visa officer or even its own inspector abroad. but again makes an examination to ascertain whether the individual has violated any of the immigration laws and determines whether he is eligible under the immigration laws as well as under the displacedpersons law.