Speech #850139047

Mr. Speaker. it is indeed regrettable thatthis bill before us today to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act. S. 2792. is being considered under the suspension of the rules of the House. because by so doing the Members vitally interested in its passage will have no opportunity to offer amendments. While I wholeheartedly support this bill but favored the House version. H. R. 8123. I honestly do not feel either bill extends enough privileges to the intending immigrants. It is evident that a more liberal immigration policy is necessary in view of the thousands of immigrants who were not given proper consideration when the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 expired in 1956. While this bill now under consideration would not extend the Refugee Relief Act. it would permit the entry into the United States of those applicants in the socalled pipeline status. It would permit hundreds of refugees and relatives to join their families in America and current figures obtained from the Department of State indicate that approximately 58.868 applications were in the various stages of processing when the Refugee Relief Act expired. Included in this number were 22.866 Italian refugees and relatives. Mr. Speaker. for the past 5 years I have been working on legislation that. in effect. would unite families here in the United States. It seems to me that the 18.765 unused visas under the Refugee Relief Act should. as a matter of national interest. justice. and equity. be made available to these unfortunate people. According to the figures I received this morning from the Visa Office of the Department of State. 190.235 visas were issued under the Refugee Relief Act before the expiration date of December 31. 1956. although 314.551 applicants applied. Of the 209.000 persons authorized to be admitted. 18.765 visas were unused by German and Austrian expellees. Dutch nationals. and nonAsian refugees in the Far East. In section 15 (a) of the bill now being considered 4.600 visas have been set aside for German and Austrian expellees. Dutch nationals. and refugees residing within the district of an American consular office in the Far East. I think we all know that the Dutch and German quotas are now open in the first. second. third. and fourth preference categories and easily available to anyone desiring to emigrate to the United States. I understand the number of visas under the act available to the aliens in the Far East was not exhausted because there were not enough applicants for the visas remaining unused when the act expired. Therefore. I can see no logical reason why subsections (1). (2). and (3) of section 15 (a) of S. 2792 should remain in the bill. Why should these visas be made available to the Germans and the Dutch when they failed to use their allocation of numbers under the Refugee Relief Act? I firmly believe the visas allocated under section 15 (a) should be made available to those nationals anxious to emigrate to America and cannot because of the oversubscription of their quotas. It is high time we take care of these "pipeline" cases. As a humanitarian Nation. we should legislate in the interest of the family group and give those who want to become Americans every chance.