President. on December 15. 1963. I had the pleasure of speaking at a rally in Chicago. sponsored by the American Committee on Italian Migration. Approximately 7.500 Americans of Italian ancestry gathered at McCormick Place to protest the present. discriminatory immigration quota system and to encourage passage of the administration bill. S. 1932. Our present Immigration Act allots a quota of 5.666 to Italy each year. Last year 266.184 qualified Italian immigrants were left waiting for visas after the meager quota was exhausted. The national origins quota system discriminates against Italians. as it does against all southern and central Europeans and Asians. S. 1932 would abolish this system and replace it with a far more equitable one in which quota numbers would be allocated on the basis of an applicants potential service to the country and on family needs. The rally at McCormick Place was a strong showing of public support for this legislation.
Keywords matched
Immigration quota system immigration immigrants visas national origins quota