Speech #830269040

Mr. Speaker. as a strong supporter of the Refugee Relief Act. I am pleased that it has been possible to secure the passage of H. R. 8193 which will eliminate some of the difficulties encountered in the administration of the program. H. R. 8193 amends the act so as to make immigrant visa allocations mutually available to either refugees or close relatives of United States citizens who are natives of Italy. Greece. or the Netherlands. For example. this will throw open to Italians with approved visa petitions on file in their behalf the unused portion of the 45.000 nonquota visas heretofore reserved but not utilized. for Italian nationas qualifying as refugees or escapees. The American consulates in Italy have approximately 44.000 approved petitions filed by American citizens for their relatives in Italy compared with only 15.000 nonquota visas available for this group under the Refugee Relief Act. On the other hand. only approximately 1.000 Italian nationals have applied for the 45.000 special nonquota visas reserved for those who could qualify as refugees or escapees. H. R. 8193 will facilitate the reunion of loved ones in the United States and will alleviate the grave problem of overpopulation and unemployment in Italy. I shall continue my efforts to insure effective implementation of this legislation so that this worthwhile program will be carried out as expeditiously as possible. I deeply regret. however. that I and my likeminded colleagues have been unable to secure action in the Republican controlled 83d Congress on pending legislation to remove the inequities and discriminations from our basic immigration and naturalization law. It is my firm conviction that a better law must be written that will strike an intelligent unbigoted balance between the immigration welfare of America and the prayerful hopes of the unhappy and oppressed. Our present immigration law deprives citizens and aliens alike of their just rights. Many of the provisions are arbitrary. unfair. and unnecessary to our security and wellbeing. Among other defects it specifically increases the grounds for exclusion and deportation to an unnecessary degree. it fails to make provision for those who have rejected totalitarianism and are won over to our side. and it makes secondclass citizens of those who attain citizenship through naturalization. It also invades the rights of citizens and makes revocation of citizenship easier. it limits the entry of needed professional and scientific workers. it perpetuates racial discrimination in new ways. and is not in keeping with our national traditions of fair play. decency. and equal justice for all. I will try in the following discussion to indicate some of the ways in which the present law can be made more liberal and more in accord with the rights of citizens and aliens alike. Let us take first the national origins quota system. Many different cultural ingredients have been blended in the formation of America. Our American culture is not a thing which was fixed once and for all by our colonial ancestors. It has much more truly indeed been a varied and dynamic force for democracy enriched by the contributions of succeeding waves of immigration. The qualities which each immigrant brought with him has influenced the course of development of American ideals and American success amid the world of many nations. The use. therefore. of a national origins quota is a poor way to approach the cultural and ethnic background of wouldbe immigrants. Authorities on the study of man and his culture tell us that it is not possible to differentiate between ethnic groups which are readily assimilable and those that are not. Moreover those countries granted large quotas do not use them while those granted smaller quotas are often forced to develop a long waiting list. Hence the national origins system fails to accomplish its purpose of admitting immigrants in accordance with a fixed racial and nationality ratio. The formula designed to control the proportions of immigrants by national or racial stock is thus shown to be a failure. Another indication of the failure of the quota system has been the passage of special legislation to accomplish certain desired national objectives. As examples of this we might cite special laws designed to take care of skilled sheepherders. war brides. displaced persons. intelligence operatives. and overseas enlistees. In addition. numerous private bills have been passed for the benefit of specified persons or families. All in all it has been estimated that this type of special legislation has permitted the entry of almost half a million people since World War II. Hence it is eminently desirable that the national origins quota system be discarded as a method for selection of eligible immigrants in favor of a system of individual selection. Such a system would give priorities to cases involving reunion of families. asylum for the persecuted and displaced persons or refugees. and persons with specially needed skills. Another feature of the present immigation law which is in need of liberalization is that of deportation. Under the present law the entire proceeding in deportation cases is conducted by representatives of the Attorney General. His agents make the investigation. present the case. hear it. and make a decision. This combination of enforcement and judicial powers within one agency violates the principles of a fair hearing. The decision of the Attorney General is final in the determination of whether an alien should be deported or not and no court review is possible with respect to his decision. Prior to 1952 immigrants were protected on the basis of the statute of limitations against deportation for past acts. This statute required the action to be brought within 5 years. Aliens may now be deported for actions committed by them as long as 30 years ago. acts which may not have even been deportable offenses when they were committed. Deportation is a severe and cruel penalty for aliens who have lived model lives and after many years have become integrated into the community. This is especially the case in instances where attachment to their mother country has become remote and a purely technical matter. Technical violation of any provisions regarding entry. even though the alien is blameless. is sufficient to require the Attorney General to deport the alien. Past membership or affiliation in organizations now deemed subversive. no matter how innocent such membership was at the time. may result in arrest and deportation proceedings. Failure on the part of an alien to notify the Attorney General of a change of address may result in arrest and deportation proceedings. Provision is made in the current law for deportation of certain types of aliens without hearing. and for the first time in our history authority is granted to enter a deportation order in absentia. Many of these provisions in the law have little to do with protecting our security. An alien who has legally entered the United States should be subject to deportation thereafter only if his original entry was based on fraud. There should be a complete separation of those who investigate and prosecute and those who sit in judgment. and there should be adequate right of appeal. These measures would be much closer to the American way of doing things. Under the present immigration law we now have more grounds for revoking citizenship than any other country in the world. Included are several which have deprived Americans of citizenship as a result of acts which could hardly justify such a penalty. For example. service in the armed forces of a foreign nation may now cause loss of citizenship. even though the nationality of the foreign power is not acquired and no oath of allegiance is taken.