Speech #850003894

Mr. President. in connection with the introduction today by the senior Senator from New York and a group of my colleagues. whom I have joined. of a bill to amend substantially the McCarranWalter Immigration Act. it is to be noted that this bill doe. not deal specially with refugees and escapees. It is essential to the modernization of our countrys immigration policy and to meet the urgent demands of our foreign policy that appropriate legislation be enacted for refugees and escapees. This should be in addition to the measure submitted today. It is expected that shortly the President will make recommendations to the Congress and they will deserve consideration on the highest priority. . The senior Senator from New York and I also expect soon to offer proposed legislation on this subject. We must now recognize that our immigration policy with respect to refugees and escapees rank as highlevel foreign policy. The flight from Hungary of thousands of refugees and its meaning already proves that. One of our most potent weapons in the fight against commiunism is the establishment of an attractive alternative to those living under communism. offering those seeking escape from behind the Iron Curtain the prospect of resettlement. Indeed. we should adopt a policy that will attract to the free world as many as possible who are gifted and effective. who can make a major contribution to our society. and deprive the Communists of this benefit. A bill to provide suitably for refugees and escapees needs to recognize also that the problem is recurrentwe have already had two previous Refugee Relief Actsthat it erupts out of major foreign policy issues. and that we have a considerable amount of unfinished business on hand right now. Under the 1953 Refugee Relief Act. which expired December 31 last. approximately 19.000 fewer visas were used than were available. In this connection. I am proud to say that the State of New York has absorbed about onethird of the refugees who have recently come from abroad. Yet many of the main categories of prospective immigrants for whom the act was intended were oversubscribed with over 24.000 more Italians wanting to come here than the law provided for. 11.000 Greeks. and 16.000 from Far Eastern countries. Also. there has been separation of families. some of whose members came in under the Refugee Relief Act. which needs to be corrected. In addition. it is essential to regularize the admission of about 15.000 Hungarian refugees who have been allowed to enter the United States on a parole status. New problems are coming up. like those with respect to persons of Jewish faith expelled from Egypt. the PalestineArab refugees. and there may be yet other eruptions from behind the Iron Curtain creating new waves of refugees. With the necessary provisions for internal security and for our capability to provide housing and jobs. the President needs to be given authority over a period of years to admit refugees and escapees in our own national interest.