The Western Hemisphere quota is illadvised and unnecessary. Secretary Rusk expressed his strong opposition to it when he said that the amendment would. in effect. place obstacles in the path leading to cordial and harmonious relations with Latin America. It is no secret. for example. that under the language of the amendment. any one country such as Canada could entirely preempt the quota for any year by sending into the United States 120.000 immigrants. Who is to say that the persons administering the new law would not permit this? And what would be the effects on the Latin nations? It is an unnecessary provision because under the present law immigration from the countries of the Western Hemisphere over the past 10 years has averaged only 110.000. With this new law we are thus creating a problem where there has been no problem in the past. The favored treatment of the nations of this hemisphere whereby no quota is placed on immigratiori was granted in the act of 1924 for reasons which are still valid today. Our feelings of hemispheric solidarity go back to the Monroe Doctrine. Our faith in the good neighbor policy and panAmerican friendship was reaffirmed with the Alliance for Progress. The quota on immigration from the Western Hemisphere approved by the House today is shattering to this faith. I am therefore asking President Johnson to veto the Immigration and Nationality Act. The pledges we have made to all the peoples of the Americas of friendship and brotherhood must be upheld. or like bad checks. they will come back one day to haunt us.
Keywords matched
Immigration immigration immigrants immigratiori