Speech #860267253

This is a risk which no one interested in the amelioration of these heartrending conditions can risk. Certainly this bill is far better than none at all. and I support it as the best obtainable under the present circumstances. This bill will permit the United States to participate in the resettlement of certain refugeeescapees by granting the Attorney General special authority to parole into the United States refugees who are under the mandate of the UNHC for refugees. A maximum of 25 percent of the number of similarly situated refugees resettled during stated periods of time in countries other than the United States will be permitted to enter this country. The administrations original proposalS. 3225of which I was cosponsor. did not contain the discriminatory provision limiting relief to refugees under the mandate of the High Commissioner. nor did It measure our willingness to extend help to these homeless victims of war and other disorders against the hospitality of other countries. I certainly would have preferred relief which f ollowed the pattern of S. 3225 to the grudging relief allowed under the present resolution. The mandate restriction will serve to exclude large numbers of refugees in nonEuropean areas and is particularly obnoxious. It will have a very undesirable impact on our relations with the peoples of the excluded areas. and there is little justification for its imposition. Such discriminatory provisions are entirely inconsistent with the humanitarian objectives of this kind of legislation. House Joint Resolution 397 also includes a number of other refugee and immigration provisions. It would make available an additional number of nonquota immigrant visas for nationals or citizens of Portugal and certain nationals or citizens of the Netherlands who. because of national calamity. are out of their usual place of abode and are unable to resettle in their own country. It does not. however. cover many refugees of Italian origin who are now being forced out of Tunisia. Nor does it expressly apply to a number of Jewish refugees who have been forced to flee the United Arab Republic because of a threat of persecution. However. assurances have been given that relief will be administratively available to these groups under the present language of the resolution notwithstanding their technical nationality. The joint resolution does make limitted provision for the admission of certain difficulttoresettle cases500 in number. This provision may also afford a measure of relief to the refugees from Tunisia and the United Arab Republic. However. this limited total number is far from adequate. Another provision of Senate Joint Resolution 397 would establish a procedure for allowing refugeeescapees admitted on a parole basis to adjust their immigration status to that of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence. It would also extend for another year the alienorphan adoption program initiated several years ago. This program has made it possible for thousands of young waifs to find hope and homes in America. We should place this program on a permanent basis after provisions are devised to safeguard against abuses. The present extension is merely an interim. stopgap device to prevent its premature expiration. Our present immigration laws. though containing many fine features. display a distrust. discrimination. and isolationism toward other peoples which are contrary to many of our basic ideals. For several Congresses now. I have been in high hopes that the needed reforms which would liberalize our Immigration and Nationality Act would be forthcoming. My consistent optimism. however. has met with constant frustration. as I have been obliged to wait year after year for overall. comprehensive and needed reform legislation. Earlier this year. in another of a long series of similar requests. President Eisenhower reiterated his support for legislation which would liberalize our present immigration system. Specifically. the President recommended use of a 1950 or 1960 census in place of the 1920 census which is presently used to determine national quotas. He also recommended that any unused quota be equitably distributed among the various quota areas in proportion to the actual number of immigrants who have come to this country under their respective quotas between July 1. 1924 and July 1. 1959. The concept of race and ethnic classifications within our population. at least for the purposes of the increases given to each quota. would be abandoned and the base for computing the number of immigrants permitted entry would be the number actually accepted from each area between 1924 and 1959. The minimum quota for each minimum quota area would be increased from the present 100 to 200. These and many other reforms have not been dealt with at all in the present joint resolution.