Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to join today in cosponsoring legislation to keep Americas door open for Irish immigrants after July 1. when new immigration regulations will bar all but a handful. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 has already caused Irish immigration to decline from a 7.000 annual average during the decade ending in 1965. to 1.800 in 1967. When the law takes full effect on July 1. immigration will drop to an estimated 5001.000 annually. The 1965 Immigration Act abolished the national origins quota system. replacing it with a preference system based on whether an immigrant has job skills needed here. or on whether he or she will be joining family members who have already emigrated. The Irish were particularly hard hit by this law because the typical Irish immigrant is a young man without formal training who sets out alone to seek his fortune in the new world. and to marry and raise a family here. whereas immigrants from other nations arrive with part of their families. and earn money here to send for the rest. The contributions of the Irishfrom the Revolutionary War heroes of 1776 to President John F. Kennedyare important to Americas greatness. The flow of such talent and vitality should not be choked off. My bill would permit about 5.300 Irish immigrants to enter this country each year by preventing any nations immigration from dropping below 75 percent of the average number of immigrants who entered the United States from that country during the 195665 period. The bill would only add an annual estimated 20.00030.000 people to the immigrant lists above the present statutory ceiling of 170.000 because of a provision limiting the immigrants from any nation affected by the measure to 10.000. Immigrants from Great Britain. Germany. the Netherlands. France.
Identified stereotypes
Generalization about Irish immigrants being young men without formal training who set out alone.