Speech #870133291

When that is done. at long last we set our feet on the road toward doing something constructive in this field. I thoroughly agree with my colleague from New York and with the Senator from Rhode Island about what the pending measure does. It does something which needs to be done for the alien orphans and for certain preference applicants for visas. and it does something which needs to be done in regard to certain technical provisions of the law relative to those who have committed crimes. those who have had tuberculosis. and so forth. But what does the pending measure fail to do? As my colleague from New York has pointed out. it fails in a most important particular. and my colleague has stated that therefore he refused to sign the report. although he will vote for it. But this measure fails to do something about our outmoded quota system. Both political parties pledged themselves to change it. and President Eisenhower gave us the specifics in regard to how to change it. Furthermore. this measure does nothing about the refugees and the escapees. Yet they constitute one of the great problems of our time. In that connection. it is most important that action be taken in behalf of the freedom fighters from Cuba. who were in Miami. No existing provision of our immigration law deals adequately with the situation in which they find themselves. Unless we proceed to make the necessary changes in the law. they will have to leave the United States. and subsequently return. in order to have their status here regularized. Certainly the situation in regard to escapees and refugees is likewise a grave one in connection with the existing situation in Berlin. where. as we recently have witnessed. because of our immigration laws. the escapees and refugees are encountering one of the greatest dangers which faces those who escape from the Communists. Certainly a definite improvementan improvement in favor of those who escape from behind the Iron Curtainis needed in our immigration laws which will apply to that situation. Mr. President. I do not need to argue the case in terms of making our immigration laws more humanitarian or in terms of our desire to improve the lot of other peoples in the world or in terms of our desire to improve the opportunities for many people in the world to find a haven in a land of peace. All these factors call for definite revisions of these laws. and President Eisenhower favors their revision. and I have no doubt that President Kennedy will also take that position. and both political parties have done so in their platforms. The constant frustration we encounter is not because of the general sentiment which exists in the United States. The general sentiment in our country is certainly in favor of such revisions of our immigration laws. But the fact remains that by means of these procedures we are foreclosed from doing other than the limited things the chairmen of the two committees believe should be done in connection with immigration matters. With all due respect to the chairmen of the two committees. I do not believe they are the most devoted friendsand of course I have no quarrel as to the sincerity of their views. I am sure they are just as sincere in their views as I am in minebut certainly they are not devoted friends of the needed changes in our immigration laws. Therefore. until we make some change to bring about relief in this parliamentary situation. I believe the prospects of having any basic changes made in our immigration laws are absolutely nonexistent. Mr. President. certainly in our country there are many organizations of fine citizens of the United States who are deeply and passionately convinced that our immigration laws must be revisedalthough there may not yet have developed throughout the country a real fever and fire in favor of such revisions. But that is all the more reason why those who. like myself. feel strongly about this matter must continue to make this point and. as I have said. must be willing to take some political risks in connection with it. If the Senate acts in this fashion. no real risk will be involved. Under the practice. the conference report would have to be rejected. and then the bill as passed by the Senate would be sent to a further conference. and the conference process would then start over again in dealing with the provisions of the Senate version of the bill which deal with alien orphans. So nothing would be lost. we would simply be refusing to accept this means of avoiding the fundamental issue of revising our immigration laws.