Speech #820209504

And I might add that in the light of Americas role of world leadership. this bill is economically unsound. politically unrealistic. and morally indefensible. If we are to view the present position of the United States in accordance with unbiased historical judgments. we must recognize that our rapid rise to world power during the past 175 years has been based upon an increase in population from 4.000.000 to over 150.000.000 people. Without question. that tremendous growth was largely the result of immigration. except for those few remaining fullblooded American Indians. we are all either immigrants overselves or the descendants of immigrants of another generation. Traditionally. one of the firmest foundations of our national strength has been the admission and the Americanizing of freedomloving individuals from all corners of the globe. The story is not new. It goes back 100 years prior to 1920 when racists and scaremongers in this country urged that the frontiers for American expansion had closed and that this Nation should restrict the entry of all immigrants. or. at least. certain types of immigrants. In the beginning these pressures were exerted and directed against the Irish and the Germans. and in later years these same sentiments were turned against newcomers from Asia and from southern. central. and eastern Europe. It is a tribute to the wisdom of our ancestors that. for so many decades. they saw through the arguments for limited immigration. and deliberately induced the settlement in this country of refugees from the Old World. Need I say that the contributions of these immigrants to our national economy. in terms of manpower. of productive capacity. and of our high standard of living. must be calculated in the billions of dollars. The invaluable services rendered by men such as Carnegie. Einstein. and Enrico Fermi are familiar to us all. and the exploits of their lesser known compatriots are similarly meritorious. And where would our victories in wars have been if it had not been for the sons of the immigrants who wore the khaki and the blue? What a coincidence it is that the wealthiest States in the Union are those where populations include the largest percentage of foreign born. Or are we going to argue now that immigration did not assist in stimulating American expansion to the great heights that it has now achieved. Of course. we must have limits to our immigration quotas. But let us recognize the fact that these limits must be reasonable. that they must be wise. that they must be just and that they must be fair. The proposed legislation. on the other hand. ignoring these elementary political and economic truths. is based upon the premise that immigration is a liability rather than an asset to the United States. In 1924. at a time when antialien feeling was at its greatest. Congress adopted a general immigration law which drastically curtailed the admission to our shores of persons born in other parts of the world. Instead of reconsidering the reasons for such restrictions. this bill blindly would perpetuate the low maximum limit and even lower actual rate of immigration in force under the 1924 statute. I am realistic enough to know that in order to avoid an outandout dislocation of our economy. we must have restricted immigration. There must be a reasonable ceiling upon the number of admissions each year in order that those who come can be comfortably and conveniently absorbed in our way of life. But. with equal force.