Speech #840000924

The remainder shall be allotted to newcomers. including those seeking religious or political asylum. and those needed here in the national interest. Second. There is to be no discrimination against any person seeking to enter this country as an immigrant. because of national origin. religion. race. or color. Third. The number of annual quota visas is to be established on the basis of onesixth of 1 percent of the United States population according to the 1940 census. the last prewar decennial census. On this basis a total of 220.000 immigrants may be admitted annually. which is about 75.000 more than under the present quota system. Furthermore. the allocation of quotas for all countries would be more equitable because the 1940 census is more representative of our population now than is the census of Fourth. The allocation of visas to the above three groups and the quotas assigned to each nation shall be determined by an Immigration and Naturalization Commission. proposed in the bill. and with the approval of the President. The Commission is to operate as an independent agency. thus avoiding much of the confusion now existing. Fifth. Unused quotas are to be pooled and distributed among those countries whose quota allotments had been used up. It will be of interest to note that since 1924 only about 40 percent of the quota numbers have been used. namely. 1.500.000 entered the United States under the quota system while 2.500.000 visa numbers remained unfilled and unused. Sixth. Aliens shall not be deported if they were admitted before their 14th birthday. or have lived in the United States for 20 years or more. The bill also provides that no alien can be deported by reason of conduct which occurred more than 10 years prior to the institution of the deportation proceedings. Seventh. Several provisions are contained in the bill which would permit an alien who is under a final order of deportation to seek judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act or the Declaratory Judgment Act. In this way it is hoped to eliminate the contradictory standards of justice applied to alien residents in this country and the severe penalties meted out for minor errors and infractions of the law. Eighth. All distinctions and discriminations between nativeborn and naturalized American citizens are eliminated and equality of all citizens under the law is established. In a democracy such as ours there is no room for secondclass citizenship nor Is discrimination against the naturalized citizens to be tolerated. The grounds for deprivation of citizenship. whether acquired by b_ th or naturalization. are remedied. There are numerous other changes and remedies suggested in the bill to improve our immigration laws. which I trust will be adopted at an early date so that the United States will be able to maintain its tradition as the haven of the oppressed and the asylum for the persecuted. Continuation of the McCarranWalter Immigration Act on our statute books is a blot on the good name of our country. If we permit this discriminatory measure to remain unaltered and unrevised. then much which is precious to American ideals and traditions Is destroyed. Mr. Speaker. I maintain that the McCarran Act is not a true reflection of the thinking and the spirit in this country. or that it represents American opinion concerning the immigrant. The McCarran Act is not the proper law for a nation which has been settled and developed by immigrants throughout its history. and which has been built to its present greatness and world leadership with the help of immigrants. For the sake of Americas greatness. its international prestige. and its position of moral leadership among the nations of the world. I urge this Congress to take swift action to undo the wrongs of the McCarranWalter Act and to adopt my proposed revision of it.