Speech #840218528

Mr. Speaker. this great Republic stands for a large number of high ideals and as such it has been regarded as the best and perhaps the last refuge of freedomloving. industrious. and enterprising people. In the past when there were few immigration restrictions. people flocked to this country and joined hands with native Americans in making this country a model. prosperous. and democratic commonwealth. America benefited by their industriousness. and they benefited by the freedom and the opportunities offered to them. It is no exaggeration to say that without the fine and lasting contribution of those immigrants to our civilization. we would be poorer in many ways today. We all readily admit that their share in the making of this country. as well as in the shaping of its destiny. has been immensely significant. Fully conscious and duly appreciative of the fine qualities of the many immigrant elements in this country. I would like to say a few words in support of S. 3876 and S. 4088. As you are aware. there are a number of anomalies under the existing immigration laws. One of these is that while quotas allotted to countries of northwestern Europe remain unused. those for the Mediterranean countries. limited in numbers. are not. This is true even though the total number of quotas permitted under the McCarranWalter Act of 1953 has not been filled. The purpose of these bills is to permit filling unused quotas with stated numbers of refugees of other nationalities. I would like to give my unreserved and wholehearted support to these bills. Without increasing the total number of immigrants. they will provide an opportunity for a deserving number of people who will make good American citizensmany of whom will be joining relatives who are themselves American citizens. Death of Federal School Aid Bill