Speech #900006397

Mr. President. one of the great achievements of the last Congress was the Immigration Act of 1965. which removed the national origins quota system from the statute books and put in its place a new formula based on equality and fair play for the people of all nations. The act resulted from a bill which I was privileged to introduce in the Senate. on behalf of myself and 26 other Senators. to carry out the legislative recommendations of President Kennedy and President Johnson. At a recent immigration conference in Boston. sponsored by the International Institute .of Boston and the American -Immigration and Citizenship Conference. a very able and distinguished colleague. the senior Senator from Massachusetts. Senator EDWARD M. KENNEDY. calls attention to the fact that the act of 1965 was not the end of the road in putting equity into our immigration laws. He cites four areas of concern to Congress. The first relates to the labor clearance provision of the new law which has troubled many Members of the Senate. The second relates to the apparent failure of the new law to provide adequate opportunities for new seed immigration. The third relates to the kind of regulations which will govern immigration from the Western Hemisphere. Legislative recommendations are currently being .studied by the Select Commission on Western Hemisphere Immigration by the act of 1965. The fourth area of concern relates to the need for legislation to update our laws on such things as deportation. exchange aliens and naturalization. Additionally. Senator KENNEDY comments on an issue of growing concern: The socalled brain drain.