Speech #850266924

COOPER. IVES. BEALL. and I issued the following statement. commenting on our inability to advance amendments to the bill which we believe necessary in the national interest: We are advised. however. and are convinced that amendment of this bill in the Senate to accomplish the revisions we consider necessary in our immigration law would mean that the bill. even if it passes the Senate with such amendments. will not be brought up in the other body at this session. After careful consideratloa we have come to the conclusion that inalequate as is this measure we nevertheless cannot contribute to its defeat by our own action. The experience in a similar situation in 1956 convinces us that we are facing no Idle threat. So in 1956. 1957. and 1958. Senators who felt that they wanted some basic immigration changes or some relief for refugees and escapees beyond what is presently available. faced frustration. upon exactly the same ground. A similar situation faces us now this year on this bill. It had been my intention to move to amend. to include a 1958 immigration law. Calendar No. 1908. S. 3942 "for the relief of certain aliens distressed as the result of natural calamity in the Azores Islands." Instead. we are faced with an actual parliamentary situation in which. if any such effort were made. the bill would not even be brought up. and if it were. it would get nowhere in the other body. All of us must. in conscience. consider whether we want to pay this price for proposing amendments. Of course. we have no such desire. However. again as in previous years to endeavor to amend the bill. to attempt to bring to the floor of this Senate the immigration proposals deemed so vital to our welfare would only mean that the bill at hand. S. 3942. would not even be called up and nothing would be accomplished but its destruction. I can do no less than to reiterate with all the force at my command the pledge of last year for a determined effort in the next session of Congress to seek to effectuate the fundamental revisions to our immigration laws required in the national interest and in the interest of justice. Somehow or other the American people have a way of making their will felt in the Congress. and I believe that if we call very sharp and forceful attention to what we are failing to do there may be some chance that their will will be manifested. "New York. Chicago. Philadelphia" were the passwords to life for the American fliers recently forced down in Soviet Armenia. Marines landing on the shores of Lebanon were greeted with queries of "Do you know my cousin in Brooklyn?" The reservoir of goodwill and the feeling an affinity toward the United States abroad built up over the years by virtue of the millions of immigrants who have come here and prospered and have in turn made America prosper is continually evidenced. The proverbial "uncle in Chicago" and "cousin in Brooklyn" mark the ties of blood that bind the peoples of the world to the United States. ties that have proven the strongest against Communist propaganda. totalitarian ideological pressures. the expanse of the oceans and the span of the years. I know that. even assuming that to be so. among the first to support any effort to enact important immigration legislation would be the distinguished Senator from Rhode Island and the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts . It would really be adding insult to injury. therefore. to frustrate them in a limited design in order to come to no accomplishment whatever. Hence. as I explained before. these are the reasons for my statement. We all know that both major political parties. Republican and Democratic. promised in their 1956 election platforms comprehensive revisins of our immigration lawsnot only comprehensive revisions of our immigration laws. but prompt revisions. This was an issue on which both parties went to the electorate and asked for its support. Both of the major political parties have recognized the importance of maintaining a flow of immigrants from abroad. The 1956 Republican platform on which this administration was elected to office by a record majority stated in part: The Republican Party supports an immigration policy which is in keeping with the traditions of America in providing a haven for oppressed peoples. and which is based on equality of treatment. freedom from implications of discrimination between racial. nationality. and religious groups. and flexible enough to conform to changing needs and conditions. We believe that such a policy serves our selfinterest. reflects our responsibility for world leadership and develops maximum cooperation with other nations in resolving problems in this area. This lastquoted sentence merits repetition for it emphasizes the constructive meaning to the United States today of this immigrationaside from humanitarian considerations: We believe that such a policy serves our selfinterest. reflects our responsibility for world leadership and develops maximum cooperation with other nations in resolving problems in this area. The Democratic Party platform of 1956 contained the following plank: The Democratic Party favors prompt revision of the immigration and nationality laws to eliminate unfair procedures under which this country depends on quotas based on accident of national origin. Proper safeguards against subversive elements should be provided. We favor elimination of the provision of laws that charge all persons admitted to our shores against quotas for future years.