Speech #870171610

Since 1952. the act has engendered severe criticism from many American citizens. The nature of this criticism is given eloquent expression in the 1960 platforms of both the Democratic and Republican Parties. The Democratic Party plank on immigration in pertinent part states: We shall adjust our immigration. nationality and refugee policy to eliminate discrimination and to enable members of scattered families abroad to be united with relatives already in our midst. The nationalorigins quota system limiting immigration contradicts the founding principles of this Nation. It is inconsistent with our belief in the rights of man. The revision of immigration and nationality laws we seek will implement our belief that enlightened immigration. naturalIzation. and refugee policies and humane administration of them are important aspects of our foreign policy. The Republican Party plank on the present immigration quota system reads as follows: Immigration has been reduced to the point where it does not provide the stimulus to growth that it should. nor are we fulfilling our obligation as a haven for the oppressed. Republican conscience and Republican policy requires thatThe annual number of immigrants we accept be at least doubled. Obsolete immigration laws be amended by abandoning the outdated 1920 census data as a base and substituting the 1960 census. The guidelines of our immigration policy be based upon judgment of the individual merit of each applicant for admission and citizenship. The strictures in the present quota system have made the reunion of families difficult and sometimes impossible. In the conduct of our international relations. the acts discriminatory provisions on nationalorigins quotas and the AsiaPacific triangle increasingly come in conflict with our position in world affairs. The United States need not. however. apologize for our immigration record since 1952. It is a commendable one. Over 21/ million immigrants have been admitted to this country. including nearly 1 million displaced persons. refugees. and escapees. Much progress has also been made in the reunion of families. But this record has not been achieved under the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952. It has been achieved in spite of it. The purpose of this bill is to set the record straight. and to bring our immigration statutes in line with our national goals. The present national origins quota system has not worked. Congress has periodically recognized its shortcomings and has repeatedly enacted special. shortterm immigration and refugee legislation. The cumulative effect of this special legislation has so modified our immigration practice that the act of 1952 no longer represents our immigration quota policy. Of the 11 million quota immigrants authorized during the 1950s. only a million actually entered the United States. However. 1 /2 million nonquota immigrants were admitted during the same period. In short. out of a total immigration of 21/2 million. 3 out of 5 persons were admitted outside the quota provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952. Through special legislation. the Congress has drastically revised the pattern of immigration envisioned by the act of 1952. Nations with very small quotas have been among the most substantial contributors to recent immigration. Italian immigration. for example. has been three times greater than its quota allotment. Japanese immigration has been over 20 times greater. Immigration from Greece and China has been 16 times the very small number permitted by their quotas. This transformation of our immigration practice has most desirable results. Thousands of families are reunited. hundreds of thousands of refugees from political and religious persecution are finding an opportunity to create new lives in a free land. and this country profits greatly through the addition of thousands of skilled and talented persons who are contributing to our social and economic growth. We have demonstrated the vitality of our democratic society and its ability to respond to human needs. but the discriminatory quota provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952 still remain on our books giving offense to peoples of many nations who are our friends. Americas role of leadership in the free world is one of great sensitivity and our position is not enhanced by an immigration policy which implies that some nationalities and some races are less desirable members of the family of man than are others. Just as world events of 25 years ago forced us to abandon splendid isolation the events of today must move us toward an immigration policy consistent with our philosophy as a free and democratic nation. Americas struggle with totalitarianism is far more than a contest for dominance in world power politics. Above all. it is a struggle for the vindication of democracys belief in the individual worth of human beings as opposed to the totalitarian concept that individuals have no identity except as components in the political and economic structure of society. The incongruities of our basic immigration statute deeply trouble those of us who join in the introduction of this new proposal. Until those provisions of our immigration laws which discriminate against certain national and racial groups are eliminated. our laws needlessly prcvide grist for the propaganda mills of Moscow and Peiping. The bill which we offer today is not a general revision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It is concerned only with the number of immigrants to be admitted and the distribution of their selection. It is the result of careful and painstaking study of our immigration practice and experience over the past 15 years. In preparing the bill. we had the invaluable counsel and experience of the American Immigration and Citizenship Conference and its affiliated organizationsthe voluntary service agencies and community. civic and labor organizations. Particular acknowledgment should go to an ad hoc committee of these organizations which has given intensive study to this problem for almost 2 years. In July 1961 these organizations submitted a statement to the President of the United States which was also circulated to Members of Congress.