Speech #880016020

Mr. President. I call to the attention of Senators two excellent statements on the economic aspects of immigration. The first. by Raymond D. Larson. assistant to the Director of the Labor Departments Office of Manpower. Automation. and Training. Is the substance of an address before the annual meeting of the American Immigration and Citizenship Conference in October 1962. The second. by Frank L. Mott. also of theOffice of Manpower. Automation. and Training. appeared in the November 20. 1962. issue of Manpower Report. a publication of the Department of Labor. These statements boil down to two points. First. immigration can help alleviate our shortage of manpower in the central age range of 24 through 44. Secondly. immigration can bring to the United States large numbers of people who possess skill and talent our economy sorely needs. Recent trends indicate clearly that an increasingly high proportion of immigrants are in the central age range of 24 through 44. the prime years of their working life. and. as Mr. Larson points out. "that the proportion of immigrants with a high degree of skill has gone up significantly in the last .10 years." Additionally. it has been determined that on the average only 47 percent of the yearly influx of immigrants enters the labor force. That America will continue to need the economic stimulation immigration historically has given was graphically pictured before a House subcommittee studying this problem last fall by Dr. Seymour L. Wolfbein. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Manpower of the Department of Labor. He pointed out that the favorable prognosis for job opportunities over the next decade would not be upset if the current level of immigration is maintained. He even suggested a slight increase in admissions during this period would be a boon. in terms of economic growth. if the skill level and occupational composition of added immigration fell in categories of need. A major objective of S. 747 is to eliminate present obstacles to the admission of such immigrants. Mr. President. if recent immigration trends continue. and we have every reason to believe they will. the enactment of S. 747 is highly desirable from the standpoint of economic growth. It removes the discriminatory aspects of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. and updates this law to conform with the needs of our time. It stresses the admission of exceptional immigrants. in addition to the reunion of families. It does not substantially alter the current level of immigration. which. incidentally. is not being achieved under the act of 1952 but through a series of special enactments to circumvent the strictures and inequities of our basic statute. I commend to Senators the timely statements of Mr. Larson and Mr.