Speech #820214113

Mr. President. this amendment would pool our quotas for the next succeeding year to enable us to continue to be a haven for the worthy folk who wish to better themselves and who can contribute to our country by making our democracy stronger and greater. This amendment would make our quota system flexible in accordance with our resources and our hopes. This amendment would insure a democratic and just quota system in accordance with our history and traditions. Fourth. Our bill. S. 2343. now pending before the Senate. would establish a statutory Board of Immigration Appeals. The Board was originally established in 1922 when it was known as the Board of Review. For 2 years the Secretary of Labor made a study of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and in 1940 recommended that a Board be established devoted solely to quasijudicial functions. The present Board of Immigration Appeals was established by Justice Jackson. when he was Attorney General to fulfill the recommendations of that 2year study. In its recent report on H. R. 5678. the socalled Walter omnibus bill. the House Committee had this to sayHouse Report No. 1365. pages 3536: It is believed that the Board has well served its purpose and has greatly contributed to a fair and equitable administration of justice in immigration. nationality. and naturalization cases. When the Walter omnibus bill was debated on the floor of the House. an amendment was approved to establish a statutory Board of Immigration AppealsCoNGRESSIONAL RECORD. page 4401. April 24. 1952. Today. the Board is a nonstatutory Board. subject to the control of the Attorney General. Our bill proposes to make this a statutory Board. so that it cannot be abolished summarily at his whim or caprice. The American Friends Service Committee. the National Catholic Welfare Conference. and other organizations have recommended that the Board of Immigration Appeals be given stature and permanence so that it can continue to contribute to the fair and impartial administration of our Immigration and nationality laws. This should be done by making the Board a statutory body as has been done by the omnibus immigration bill which has passed the House of Representatives on Fifth. S. 2343 would permit the entry Into the United States of reformed members of totalitarian parties. whose past membership was involuntary or who have since been actively opposed to the doctrines of such totalitarian organizations of which they were members. This provision is similar to the provision contained in S. 2550 at pages 60 and 61.