Speech #900235403

Speaker. I join my fellow sponsors of H.R. 16583 in urging this bills swift enactment into law. The bill would amend the 1965 Immigration Act to redress a startling injustice that few legislators could have anticipated when the act passed the Congress 3 years ago. The act liberalized this countrys antiquated immigration laws. scrapping a quota system that favored a handful of northwestern European countries and that discriminated against almost all other countries. The act insured that applicants for immigration to the United States would be judged on the basis of their talents. occupational skills. or family relationship to American citizensrather than on the basis of their nationality alone. In eliminating the inequities of the quota system. however. the act gave rise to new inequities: northwestern European nations now face significant restrictions on immigration to the United States. Irish immigration. for example. has dwindled from an annual level of about 7.000 to less than 2.000. All indications are that the number will soon fall below 1.000. H.R. 16583 would help eliminate the newand wholly unintentionalrestrictions on immigration from northwestern European countries. providing additional visas to those countries hit hardest by the provisions of the 1965 Immigration Act. To any country whose rate of immigration under the new law is onefourth below its average for the decade 195565. H.R. 16583 would add additional visas to bring the number up to the threefourths level. In other words. if a countrys new visa allotment is as much as threefourths or more of the average for that decade. it would not receive additional visas. But those countries experiencing losses in excess of onefourth would receive additional visas so that the allotment would equal threefourths of the 195565 average. To quote directly. the legislation states: There shall be made available to immigrants from such foreign state an additional number of visas for the succeeding fiscal year equal to the difference between the number of visas made available to them In the preceding fiscal year and threefourths of such average annual number [of the decade 1955 to 1965]. However. the number of such additional visas shall never exceed 10.000 for any one country. Under the legislation. we would apportion the additional visas to the preference categories as follows: The first five categories would receive 40 percent. None of the first five could receive more than 8 percent. In other words. the preference categories comprising unmarried sons and daughters and spouses of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. members of the professions and scientists of exceptional ability. married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens would receive 40 percent of the additional visas. We would allocate 30 percent to the sixth preference. which includes skilled or unskilled labor. The remaining 30 percent we would reserve for nonpreference applicants. Such applicants would receive the visas in the chronological order in which they qualify. The legislation would entitle the third and sixth preference applicants for the additional visas to an important exception. Those immigrants who would enter to pursue skilled or unskilled employment would be exempt from section 212(a) (14). which requires labor certification. That is to say. applicants for the additional visas who would enter to work would not need to show. as do regular immigrants of those preference categories. that a shortage or need for their skills exists in the United States. The present immigration laws limit the number of immigrants to 170.000 a year. This amendment would increase that limit by no more than 20.000 or 30.000. or a little more than 15 percent at the most. I submit. Mr. Speaker. that by enactment of this legislation we will enhance and further the purpose of the landmark 1965 Immigration Act. We would insure that no countrys allotment is severely cut back by provisions enacted to more equitably distribute the cherished gift of residence in the United States.