Speech #840224267

It is not only the principle of inequality that is dismaying. but also the practical effect of such unbalanced distribution. Fiftysix percent of the available quota numbers remained unused from 1925 through 1952. Great Britain and Ireland do not use their allotment even up to 40 percentin the case of Great Britain it is even lessand these visas go to waste while the low quota countries. seeking new opportunities. and with a stern courage. are willing to face life anew in a free land. wait behind closed doors. Through the bill I have introduced. H. R. 8392. I have sought to balance the scales. I have sought a change in our immigration law which would speak for the heart of America. for its traditions of fair play. justice. and asylum. and at the same time protect the national interests of our beloved country. My bill would permit people to enter in true proportion to the population of our country. In present terms. this would admit 250.000 a year and would change as the population proportion changes. Entry would be based. not on where a man is born. but on the worth of the individual himself. on the needs of his country. on the principle of reuniting of families. and on the need of the newcomers who face persecution in other lands. The national origins quota system must go. To that end. I shall turn every effort. as I have donein the past. Other inequities in the law must be erased. We must do away with the distinctions between nativeborn and naturalized citizens so that once a person is naturalized he lives forever freely. on the same terms with the nativeborn citizen. and the land of his adoption asks of him no more and no less than it does of its native born. Not only has our international prestige suffered. but so has our selfinterest in this paper curtain we have placed before the less favored people of this world. This is a land of influence. This is a land whose wealth and health have grown because of the contributions of immigrants. Inbreeding is as wrong for nations as it is for families. Inbreeding emphasizes the weaknesses and rejects the vigor that new blood brings. I wish to point also to the harsh. unnecessary clause in our Immigration and Nationality Act pertaining to deportation. It fails to protect families who have made their homes here for many. many years and has tossed aside the very principle upon which this country has been builtthe principle of mans humanity to man. May I point out Mr. Speaker. some of the confusion which exists in the present law. For example. the Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice both control the entrance of immigrants into the country. and what one department may grant the other department may deny. It has happened often. An immigrant with a valid visa has been stopped at the very shores of this country and turned back by the Department of Justice. although the Department of State had already given its consent. My bill creates a commission which would have independent authority and sole responsibility so that the immigrant does not face the United States wondering which side of the immigration split personality will be his judge and his jury. Nor can we afford to forget that any consul in a foreign country can use his discretion to deny a visa to any person and for any reason or no reason at all. Not even the President of the United States can interfere with the use of this discretion. and there is no body. no board. no commission. to review any decision made by the consul. though such decision may be arbitrary and unjust. This. likewise. would be remedied by my bill. As has been said most aptly. "If we are to meet our responsibilities justly. we must stop daring the immigrant to get here and start inviting him to come here." As long as I remain in public office. I shall fight against the unworthy thought that one man is good enough to be called brother and another is not. only because of his race. religion. or national origin. Americas genius lies in its mixture of peoples.