Speech #880238959

HR. 7902. to show my strong support. Ever since coming to Congress. I have introduced bills calling for a complete overhaul and liberalization of our immigration and naturalization laws. The need for such action on the part of Congress is forcibly brought home to me almost daily. my congressional district Is one which contains a large percentage of immigrants and new U.S. cltiens. many pathetic letters reach me describing the heartache resulting from interminable separation of members of a family. Children are frustrated in their efforts to bring their parents here. relatives in many countries face a lifetime of waiting for their turn to be reached under our unfair quota system. The task before your committee should be undertaken with compassion and forthrightness and the recognition of the fact that the proposed changes in our laws are reasonable and are demanded by existing circumstances. Our country became great under our earlier policy of unrestricted immigration. Those who sought refuge and freedom here contributed mightily of their brawn. their brains. and their loyalty. our Nation grew strong and prospered. The present quota system which is based on the place of birth or the racial origin of a human being has proved to be a blot upon our conscience as a Nation. We must acknowledge that birthplace and racial origin of a human being do not determine the quality or the level of a mans intellect. his moral character. or his qualifications for becoming a part of our Nation and our society. The administration bill and my identical bill provide that our future total Immigration quota will be divided. regardless of the immigrants place of birth. into categories completely divorced from the concept of race. nationality. citizenship. or place of birth. A persons skill. or his relationship to a citizen in the United States or to an immigrant previously admitted to our country for permanent residence. will determine his inclusion in one of the categories listed. However. a large portion of the annual immigration quota will remain available for refugees and displaced persons so that we. as a nation. can serve humanity and help unfortunates. We shall also give those who wish to leave their homelands and seek opportunities here for themselves and their children. an opportunity to do so. We are mindful of the sad situation which exists at presentwhen thousands of immigrant visas allocated under existing quotas are not used by certain nations. by immigrants born in those countries which we have favored. At the same time immigrants born in other countries--less favored by us. if we are honest enough to admit it and which have infinitesimal quotas--have to wait for permission to come here for periods of a 5 to 25 years. This is a shameful state of affairs and it must be brought to an end. Under the new system the entire quota will be used In every 12month period. The process of elimination of the national origins principle will continue for 5 years after enactment of the bill. We would have preferred that the old condemned system of national origins be wiped out immediately. However. we must recognize that such a drastic change. if imposed overnight. would create havoc with the administrative processes of immigration and visa issuance by our consulates spread all over the world. Thus it is proposed to cut 20 percent of our quota in each of the 5 years succeeding enactment of the bill. and place that number of visas in a pool to be operated under the new system. At the end of the 5year period. the new system will be in full effect. and the administrators will have gained necessary A3223 experience by that time through gradual use of the new system. After the fifth year following enactment of the bill. all quota numbers would be drawn from a single worldwide quota of 164.582. Quota numbers would be allocated in the order of preference specified in amended section 203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. That is. first call on the first 50 percent is given to persons whose admission. by virtue of their exceptional skill. training or education. would be especially advantageous to the United States. first call on the next 30 percent. plus any part of the first 50 percent not issued to the skilled specialists. is given to unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. not eligible for nonquota status because they are over 21 years of age. first call on the remaining 20 percent. plus any part of the first 80 percent not taken by the first two classes. is given to spouses and children of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence. and any portion remaining is issued to other applicants. with percentage preferences to other relations of U.S. citizens and resident aliens. and then to certain classes of workers. Section 203 further provides that within each class. visas are issued In the order in which applied forfirst come. first served. These preference provisions. which under present law determine only relative priority between nationals of the same country. will now determine priority between nationals of different countries throughout the world. No country would be allowed to receive more than 10 percent of the quota numbers available in any year (including those from the quota reserve pool during the first 5 years. from the areas quota). with certain exceptions.