Speech #820200540

They should place all persons. Irrespective of race. on the same level of equality everywhere in the world. That is all that the Celler amendment is trying to doto place them all on an equal basis. and not to single out the orientals and say if you are 50 percent oriental. you have to come in under the quota of the Asiatic Pacific triangle. That is discrimination of the worst kind. In addition. Mr. Masaoka goes on to say: For immigration purposes from Latin America and Canada. the pending bills place all Asian and Pacific peoples on the same level of equality. but not on the same level as Europeans. Africans. and those of the Western Hemisphere. Fears that immigrants of Asian extraction would flood our gates via countries bordering us to the North and South are groundless in our considered judgment. for every nation in the Pan American Union has for many years past either practiced a policy of complete exclusion (which was patterned after our laws in this regard) or rigidly controlled immigration from the Orient. We are not going to be flooded by partially oriental peoples from Latin America or from Canada. because they have been using the same exclusion laws that we have. the same rigidly restrictive immigration. He goes on to say: We do not anticipate that any of these nations will open Its gates to the free immigration of peoples from the Pacific basin. And since our immigration laws authorize the admission only of nativeborn citizens of these Western Hemisphere nations. only a relatively few individuals would qualify for entry. The extension of pending legislation to eliminate racial distinctions between the native born of these LatinAmerican countries and Canada would not disturb our basic immigration concepts that are founded upon the national origins idea. I could read to you the opposition to this particular section of the bill by the American Federation of Labor. the Liberal Party of the State of New York. the International Institutes. the American Jewish Congress. the Councils for Community Action in my own district. one of the outstanding civic organizations in New York City. the American Friends Services Committeea Quaker organizationThe National Catholic Rural Life Conference is strongly in favor of this Celler Amendment. Many of the organizations that have been working in this field oppose this discriminatory section of the bill. and support the Celler amendment.