Speech #890139702

But bringing them in was quite another question. All of that had to be considered in the preparation of the bill. Then. of course. there were the refugees. Anyone who has ever inspected refugee campsand I have inspected them in the Levantine States like Lebanon and Syria. in Palestine. in India. and in Europe. I have seen Berlin virtually ringed with refugee camps. to the point where finally they become professional refugees. That is not difficult to understand. When I said to the officials of Syria. "Why not issue these people work cards. so that they can go to work?" and ob-. viously they could not without a work card. They said. "Our own labor is opposed to it." So. no work card. no work. No work. they fall back upon their refugee status. A second generation of professional refugees has not gotten out of some of the camps in various parts of the world. It Is a problem that we cannot blink. In this bill. we provide for 10.200 refugees. but within the ceiling of 170.000 for all of the world except the Western Hemisphere. I add to all this the individual relief bills that we were continually called upon to introduce. It should not have to be done. But it had to be done. and It takes time to process every one. There are other factors that I think dictated the need for a new approach to the whole problem of Immigration. There is one item in the bill that is my particular baby. and that is the Commission. three from the Senate. three from the House. and nine appointed by the President. to make a 3year study. not only of immigration. but of the population explosion generally and its impact on employment and unemployment as well. That Commission is to make its first report on the 1st of July. 1967. That will be 1 year before the transition from our present system to the new system becomes entirely complete.