But I believe. Mr. President. in an appropriate limit on immigration. I believe in controlled immigration. I believe in immigration laws which are fair. just. and reasonable. and which guard the national welfare and the national security. while also continuing the tradition of America as a haven for the oppressed and the persecuted. for those who seek freedom and new opportunity. But this is not the time for a debate on the immigration laws. This is a time to see that our immigration laws. bad as they are. are not openly flouted by a huge stream of illegal immigration through Canada and Mexico. Let us liberalize our laws. let us not wink the eye at the wholesale flouting of them. The Immigration and Naturalization Service is provided. in the pending bill. without my amendment. with $39 million. Of this amount. about $21/2 million is proposed for expenses of the Naturalization Service. The remaining $361/2 million are for the various activities connected with immigration. for the screening of aliens before they enter this country. for investigating them. for apprehending. detaining. and deporting those who enter illegally. The great bulk of this money is proposed to be spent on activities in connection with immigration from Europe and Asia. Only about onesixth of the whole. as I read the figures. is to be spent on preventing illegal immigration from Mexico and Canada. Yet the fact is that in 1953 the total number of legal entries of aliens. including visitors and transients. was much less than 1 million. and of these. less than 200.000 were admitted for permanent residence. The total number of illegal entries across the Mexican border alone for the year 1953 was officially estimated to be in the neighborhood of 4 million.
Keywords matched
Immigration deporting Naturalization immigration illegal immigration