Speech #810301668

Mr. Speaker. I have been working for 72 years for this daythe removal of racial discrimination from our naturalization laws. Someofie has said that House Joint Resolution 238. the conference report on which we have just adopted. is 25 percent of the Judd bill. H. R. 199. which removed racial discrimination from both our naturalization and our immigration laws. Actually. House Joint Resolution 238 means more than that because the passage of this portion of my bill should make easier the passage of the remainder. H. R. 199 is the Eightyfirst Congress version of legislation I vowed when I came to Congress I would try to get enacted. as a matter both of plain justice and of great benefit to our own countrys standing and influence in the Asiatic half of the world. It was passed by the House on March 1. 1949. It went over to the other body and hearings were held by a subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary. However. inasmuch as that committee was engaged in a comprehensive revision of our immigration laws. it incorporated the features of my bill in its omnibus bill which was reported out on April 20. 1950. as S. 3455. Because of the legislative jam in the other body. it appears that this bill will not be given consideration during this session of the Congress. So the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Naturalization. the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania took the first section of my bill. H. R. 199 and introduced it as House Joint Resolution 238. It passed the House by unanimous consent. but was considerably modified in the other body. Now the conferees have agreed upon a bill which is substantially that passed by the House. with the addition of provisions to prevent persons who have been members or supporters in the last 10 years of organizations declared by the Attorney General to be subversive in character. from taking advantage of the naturalization privileges provided in the Resolution. Also any person naturalized under this Resolution who becomes a member or supporter of any such subversive organization within the next 5 years may have his naturalization revoked. Under the joint resolution as just adopted. almost 85.000 Japanese who were admitted to this country for permanent residence prior to the passage of the Exclusion Act on July 1. 1924. can now apply for citizenship papers the same as alien immigrants from any other land. Also 3.139 Koreans will be made eligible and 145 other Asiansmostly Burmese. Indonesians.