Speech #880288340

Such reasoning is beyond the realm of honest thinking. The law is cruel at many levelsit does not provide for the unification of families divided through its arbitrary operative effects. It disregards our public policy in its complete disregard for emergency world refugee problems. Its provisions are inadequate to permit the entrance of immigrants with needed skills at the industrial trades levelalso in the scientific and medical fields. It is interesting to study the changes in American policy from the period before World War Ipurely regulatory as to quality prescriptions only. The only persons refused were those who failed to pass minimum tests of health. literacy. and behavior recordscriminal. The drastic changes were enacted in 1921quota lawand the JohnsonReed Act of 1924 that limited the immigrant quota to 150.000. and provided for the national origin quota systemthat the annual quota for any nationality should bear the same ratio to 150.000 as the number of inhabitants of that nationality bore to the "total number of inhabitants of the United States in 1920." Thus the formula was fixed to the existing national structure of our population. It further excluded the descendants of slave immigrants from total population figuresa sad commentary upon honest thinking to disclassify In citizenship almost the entire Negro population. The JohnsonReed Act was a national indictment against the southern Europeans including Italy and Greece and the nonwhites from Asia and Africa. as well as a negation of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and its distinguished chairman. the gentleman from Ohio. MICHAEL FEIGHAN. are to be complimented in determining that hearings should be held to give an opportunity to those interested in the subject to present their views. It is my intention to support the administration position in this matter as recommended by our martyred President.