Mr. President. I strongly support the immigration reform bill of 1965. Our land is a land of opportunities. Today we in the Senate have a chance to extend these opportunities to those who can make the most valuable contributions to American life. We can never have enough talent. And we will gain more talent when the immigration reform bill becomes law. We can never have enough new ideas. And we will have many more when the immigration reform bill becomes law. Our present immigration laws were enacted in 1924. They did not make sense then. and they make even less sense now in todays rapidly changing world. For the national origins quota system asks only when a man was born. not what he can do. If he is lucky. and happens to live in a country with a large quota. he may be able to emigrate to the United States. If he is unlucky. and happens to be from a country with a small quota. his chances are slimmer. no matter how badly he may want to come. This is true if he is from eastern or southern Europe. or from Asia. For the national origins quota discriminates against people from nations in these areas. The national origins quota system does not make sense for another reason. In many countries stipulated quotas go unfilled. For example. the quota for British subjects is 65.000. Yet. only 25.000 British subjects emigrate to the United States each year. Elsewhere. people eagerly await an opportunity to come. In Italy. 265.000 people have registered for admission.
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emigrate immigration national origins quota