Speech #860090574

and the junior Senator from New Jersey . a proposed Immigration and Citizenship Act of 1959 which would supplant the grossly inadequate 1952 act. This bill seeks to modernize the antiquated concepts and prejudices of an isolationist America formed prior to World War II and retained in our present immigration and nationality laws. Seven major objectives are met by this proposed revision. First. The bill discards the national origin system. the selection of immigrants according to tests of racial ancestry or place of birth. We cannot remain true to the democratic principles of the Declaration of Independence nor to our United Nations espousal of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. that people are to be treated equally without regard to race. national origin or place of birth. and at the same time disregard such basic tenets in our immigration and nationality laws. Human beings should be judged upon the basis of their inherent worth. Ancester worship and the worship of national origins should be eradicated from our immigration statutes. My proposed bill would modernize the quota system and establish a numerical limitation upon the basis of onesixth of 1 percent of the most recent population census. This quota would be allocated without regard to national origin. race. color. or creed. Preferences under the quota would be allocated to reunite families. to bring needed skills to the United States. and to accord asylum to refugees. Second. The proposed Immigration and Citizenship Act of 1959 would incorporate the fair procedures into our immigration and nationality problems which Congress has found so necessary for other administrative agencies. I refer to the Administrative Procedure Act. The people of our Nation have been repeatedly shocked and chagrined by arbitrary immigration procedures which hark back to the deportation delirium of the 1920s. Strict enforcement of our immigration laws can and should be accomplished within the framework and limitations of a fair code of administrative justice as outlined by the Administrative Procedure Act. Other provisions designed to bring reasonable standards and fairness into immigration procedures are provisions for a statute of limitations. requirements that only record evidence be considered at hearingswith rare exceptionsand the elimination of determinations based on personal opinions of administrative officials. Third. The proposed bill would eliminate the unnecessary duplication which exists today in the administration of our immigration laws. There is no justification for two coordinate branches of our Governmentthe State Department and the Department of Justiceto maintain separate staffs and to adjudicate immigration cases each independent of the other. To streamline the process and to completely modernize it. the bill proposes a single independent agency. to be known as the Immigration and Naturalization Commission. with three members who would supervise and control all the immigration functions now divided into the State and Justice Departments. The bill also provides for a statutory Board of Immigration and Visa Appeals. The principle underlying these proposals have the approval of the American Bar Association. Fourth. The bill would eliminate some of the cruel injustices of the present law. Deserving aliens with family ties in the United States would not be deported. Single aliens who had established themselves here and have good records will no longer be subjected to exile and banishment. Fifth. The bill would eliminate the statutory discriminations between nativeborn and naturalized citizens. Under the proposed bill. a naturalized person who acquires citizenship in good faith will no longer be a secondclass citizen but will have the same right to travel and stay abroad as a nativeborn citizen. The bill will also eliminate the present unsubstantial grounds for the denial or revocation of citizenship. Sixth. The bill would establish a statutory review procedure in all cases involving loss of citizenship. deportation. exclusion. and denial of visas. Finally. the bill would provide reasonable standards for exclusion and deportation of aliens and for loss of citizenship. Included are adequate safeguards to prevent the admission of aliens who have advocated or taught subversive doctrines or have been members of such subversive organizations as the Communist or Nazi parties. the categories of aliens to be barred under these provisions are carefully defined. The 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act lacks clarity. simplicity. fair standards. freedom from discrimination. and regard for human rights. It has been the subject of numerous piecemeal amendments in an effort to achieve some of these desired qualities. The full accomplishment of this desired goal can only be accomplished by a complete revision. To this end I have introduced the Immigration and Citizenship Act of The enactment of this bill will make the World Refugee Year a historical accomplishment and will signal to the whole world our rededication to the service of mankind and a life of freedom for all. Mr. President.