Speech #900229716

Mr. Speaker. yesterday I introduced with 22 cosponsors legislationH.R. 16593to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 in order to prevent a precipitous decline in immigration from nations which have historically contributed so many immigrants to this land. In 1965 the Congress determined that national origin quotas were unjust and that immigration to the United States should instead be based on two principlesthe reuniting of families and the attraction of immigrants with needed skills. The unintended result of this change has been to virtually shut the door on immigration from Northern and Western Europe. Clearly. this was never the intent of Congress. We are now in a transitional period. Each nation still has its old quota. but prospective immigrants must also meet the other requirements of the 1965 act. They must have immediate relatives in the United States. or be able to meet rigid labor certification requirements. AIready. immigration from Northern and Western Europe has declined sharply because of these amendments. The soclological bias of the 1965 act favors immigrants from nations from which whole families wish to immigrate. When. the act is fully in effect after July 1. 1968. and all national quotas have been abolished. immigration from Northern and Western Europe will decline further. One of the hardest hit nations has been Ireland. Irelands annual quota was 17.756 which it did not fully use. In average years. about 7.000 Irish immigrated to the United States. Already. because of the labor certificate requirement. Imml gration has dropped to 1.809 visas Issued at Dublin in 1967. After July 1. 1968. when the 1965 act is fully in effect. it is estimated that only 500 to 1.000 Irish will be able to immigrate to the United States yearly. When the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was before the Congress. the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs of the Department of State prepared tables on the estimated effect the new act would have on immigration patterns during fiscal years 1966. 1967. and 1968. The State Department estimate assured the Congress that Irish immigration would continue at a level of about 5.2005.246 for fiscal year 1966. 5.113 for fiscal year 1967. 5.113 for fiscal year 1968. However. the 1965 act has already caused it to drop to about 1.800. Had the Congress anticipated this precipitous decline. surely necessary safeguards would have been written into the act. H.R. 16593 amends the 1965 act to provide safeguards for all nations. It would permit immigration from Ireland and other similarly situated countries without returning to a quota system and without injury to countries which benefit from the new law. The bill provides that any nation. whose immigration has dropped below 75 percent of its yearly average during the 10year base period 1956 to 1965. will be allotted additional places in excessof the worldwide juota to bring its total up to 75 percent of the base period average annual immigration. In no case would it exceed 10.000. Nations which have gained under the provisions of the 1965 act will not be affected. Only those nations for which historic patterns of immigration have declined sharply will benefit. Ireland. for example. used to send an average of about 7.000 immigrants. Under our bill. its floor would be 75 percent of that number or about 5.300. Since in practice. the number of nations which have been injured by the 1965 amendments to the act is small. this provision would permit at most the entry of an additional 20.000 to 30.000 immigrants worldwide. I know that the Committee on the Judiciary and its distinguished chairman and the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration are sympathetic to the objectives of this legislation. and I am hopeful that hearings will be held promptly on this very serious problem. The following have cosponsored the legislation: WILLIAM F. RYAN.