Speech #900102128

Mr. Speaker. recently I have grown increasingly alarmed. as have many of my distinguished colleagues. over an apparently inadvertent Injustice of our present immigration system. I call to attention specifically section 212(a) (14) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. I remember the high expectations I shared with those who eagerly watched the 89th Congress correct inequities which had been perpetrated for so long by the old law. There is no question that the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 did represent a major reevaluation of thinking and constituted a substantial advancement toward a facilitation of immigration to this country. But in its implementation appeared a great disappointment. Under the old law aliens who wished to become citizens of the United States and entered our skilled and unskilled labor force could do so if they were within the quota assigned to their nationality. unless the Secretary of Labor certified to both the Attorney General and the Secretary of State that "there are available in the United States at the aliens proposed destination sufficient workers able. willing and qualified at the time of application for a visa and for admission to the United States. to perform such skilled or unskilled labor. or (B) the employment of such aliens will adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed." Under the new section 212(a) (14). however. this burden of proof was shifted to the alien who was to be informed that. unless he could obtain entry permission in the form of a labor certification from the Secretary of Labor. a long and arduous bureaucratic process. he would not be welcome in America. To my mind. this regrettable provision is contrary to the very principles upon which our free democracy was founded. At the base of the Statue of Liberty is inscribed: "Give me your tired. your poor. your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Our greatness is built upon the free choice of immigrants who came to America to apply their own free choosing and thereby help build our great Nation. Section 212 (a) (14) constitutes as unnecessary harassment to many of those who would choose to make America their home. The protection to American workers that section 212 (a) (14) allegedly offers is superfluous in light of the admittedly small impact which immigrants have on the national work force. Mr. Speaker. this shift of labor certification responsibility is not a mere technicality of wording. but in actual practice has created a dire inequity in the immigration process. All aliens who seek admission to the United States to perform skilled and unskilled labor must contend with section 212(a) (14). but it has adversely affected Irish immigration the most. Quite naturally this discriminatory result has raised much concern among our Irish American community. In May of this year the American Board Convention of the Gaelic Athletic Association joined with the American Irish Immigration Committee of New York and the growing list of Irish organizations protesting the inequity of the present immigration law. by submitting to me the following resolution: Whereas: The American Board of the Gaelic Athletic recognizes that the former Immigration Law was biased against certain foreign nationalities and the legislation to correct the imbalance was justifiable. Whereas: The new immigration law. now in effect. dlscrlminstes against certain nationalities most notably the Irish whose per capita contribution to the development of the United States is without parallel in Its history. Whereas: Despite the fact that immigration into the United States increased by 23.677 In 1966 over 1965. the monthly average from Ireland decreased by 78 %. which means that the Irish are virtually banned from permanent residence in the United States. Whereas: From the lips of Washington and Lincoln the Irish drew praise for their heroic valor and sacrifices against the enemy from within. so too have the Irish of America contributed to the cause of freedom against the enemy from without. as personified in the person of the most illustrious Irishman of all John F. Kennedy. Resolved: That the American Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association representing all clubs in twenty four cities from coast to coast in the United States call upon all Senators and Congressmen to modify the present Immigration Law as It pertains to Ireland. so that the contribution of the Irish may continue to be available to meet the New Frontiers of the future as effectively as they established the beach heads of freedom in the past. Irish immigrants to this country have indeed contributed to America far out of proportion to their numbers. In the words of John F. Kennedy. "they have been among the best citizens." When our late President visited Ireland. his ancestral home in 1963. he stated with pride that: The Speaker of the House is of Irish descent.