This law expired in March 1962. There were 170.000 registered applicants of various nationality groupsItalians. Greeks. Spaniards. Chinese. Portuguese. and other nationalities. including their spouses and their childrenwho saw their hopes and plans wrecked by the automatic death of a law. We could not blame them for feeling betrayed when their petitions were accepted. then mired down in redtape that delayed the issuance of visas until it was too late. There is a large ItaloAmerican population in Massachusetts. Some of them have come to me with hurt in their eyes. "We cant understand why the Government would do this to us.