Speech #890081919

President. I continue to see in the press and to hear by radio and television occasional statements by misinformed persons to the effect that the action of Congress in 1963 in refusing to extend the socalled Bracero Act. Public Law 78. beyond December 31. 1964. was in the nature of a Congressional mandate to the Secretary of Labor. the Commissioner of Immigration. and the Attorney General to discontinue the making available of supplemental agricultural labor from foreign sources to help American farmers in the harvesting of their crops. particularly perishable fruits. vegetables. and berries. Of course. there is no truth whatever in the contention that Congress gave such a mandate. There is every showing in the RECORD of congressional hearings and congressional debates and in the text of laws enacted by Congress that the only accurate meaning that can be given to the action of Congress in 1963 in terminating Public Law 78 on December 31. 1964. is that it was merely a termination of the Bracero Act Itself. Such action was designed to have no effect whatever upon the provisions of the general immigration law under which supplemental agricultural labor is available and has been made available for years both prior to the enactment of Public Law 78 and continuously since that time. At the time that the original Bracero Act was proposed. a grandiose recommendation was insisted upon by the Department of Labor to allow it to control the importation of all supplemental agricultural labor from all sources. including not only Mexico. but also the West Indian and Canadian sources. and also to control migratory domestic farmworkers. The proposed modification urged by the Department of Labor would have set up an elaborate and expensive hierarchy. including labor camps or motels. extending pretty well all over our Nation. transportation and medical assistance and an extravagant setup of personnel to give the Labor Department complete control of not only all foreign supplemental agricultural labor. but also all domestic migrant agricultural workers and their families. Since I attended the hearings on that measure and took part in conforming it to the form represented by Public Law 78. the Bracero Act. and since I know that the Bracero Act was intended in meeting the needs of American farmers to also meet certain requirements of the Mexican Government and other requirements of our own to prevent the exploitation and abuse of imported Mexican agricultural workers. and particularly to eliminate the socalled wetback problem. I think it may be well to collect certain salient parts of the record in one place at this time so that all may see the care which Congress exercised in assuring that Public Law 78 would in no way interfere with the provisions of the general immigration law. Public Law 414. and would in no way extend Federal control over either supplemental agricultural labor from the West Indies or Canada or over migrant American farm labor in general. I ask. therefore. that certain portions of the RECORD of the hearings before the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry on March 13. 1951 on the original proposal of the Labor Department be included herewith as a part of my remarks. I read now from page 16 of the hearing: