Speech #900236437

Mr. Speaker. I have introduced legislation to insure a continued flow of immigrants from all countries to the United States. The aims of our immigration policy have been frustrated by amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act which have not satisfactorily bridged the transition from the discarded national origins system to the concepts set forth in the act of October 3. 1965. I believe that U.S. immigration policy is just and fair. It is a policy based on the tenets of reuniting families giving preference to those who will contribute to our expanding society and offering asylum to refugees. This policy was implemented and given full effect when the act of October 3. 1965. became law. This act gave recognition to the dignity of the individual and repealed the national origins concept based upon place of birth as a system for selecting immigrants. This important legislation. as laudable as it was. unfortunately created certain unintended inequities. The closer July 1. 1968. approaches the date that the act of October 3. 1965. becomes fully operativethe more obvious the shortcomings are. This legislation. as originally proposed in Executive communications submitted to the Congress by both President Kennedy and by President Johnson. was sound. The legislation as enacted into law was deficient. The Executive communications suggested a 5year phaseout of the national origins system. Each countrys quota was to be reduced during this period by 20 percent annually and the quota numbers freed by this annual deduction were placed in a quota reserve pool which also contained unused quota numbers from the previous year. The numbers from the pool were to be available to otherwise admissible aliens who were unable to obtain prompt issuance of visas due to oversubscription of the quotas or subquotas as determined by the Secretary of State After 5 years all quota numbers would be allocated on a firstcome. firstserved basis without regard to national origin. As a safety feature. the original bills contained provision to authorize the President to set aside certain numbers which could be used to avoid undue hardship resulting from the reduction of annual quotas. In fact. a statement accompanying the Executive communication said: Exceptions to the principle of allocating visas on the basis of timeofregistration within preference classes are provided to deal with exceptional problems. Since some countries quotas are now current. their nationals have no old registration on file. To apply the principle rigidly would result. after four or five years. in curtailing immigration from these countries almost entirely. This would be undesirable. not only because it would frustrate the aim of the bill that immigration from all countries should continue. but also because many of the countries that would be affected are our closest allies. However. during the course of deliberations in the Judiciary Committee. the proposal was advanced that a phaseout of the national origins system in less than 5 years would be desirable and workable. It was also advocated that the firstcome. firstserved system be instituted immediately without any phaseout period. On June 27. 1965.