Speech #910014278

Mr. Speaker. the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished the old national origins system of immigration and replaced it with a more equitable system. However. one result of the new law was to discriminate. unintentionally. against Ireland and certain other northern European countries. As a result Irish immigration has been seriously curtailed in recent years. In order to change this trend. I introduced H.R. 5837 on February 3 of this year which would correct the present deficiencies in the immigration law which now unfairly restrict Irish immigration. The Irish contribution to the growth and development of our country has been considerable. and I believe my bill will help give proper recognition to this contribution by removing barriers to future Irish immigration. Under leave to extend my remarks In the RECORD. I include the text of my bill: H.R. 5837 A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make additional immigrant visas available for immigrants from certain foreign countries. and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: "(f) Notwithstanding the numerical limitations in subsection (a) of this section and in section 202(a). If any fiscal year beginning after June 30. 1968. the total number of immigrant visas made available to immigrants from any foreign state under paragraphs (1) through (6) and paragraph (8) of section 203(a) was less than threefourths of the average annual number of such visas made available to immigrants from such foreign state under this Act during the tenfiscalyear period beginning July 1. 1955. 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 number. except that the number of such additional visas made available in any fiscal year to immigrants from such foreign state shall not exceed ten thousand. The additional visas authorized by the preceding sentence for immigrants from such foreign state shall be made available as follows: "(1) Forty per centum of the additional visas shall be made available to immigrants entitled to a preference status under paragraph (1). (2). (3). (4). or (5) of section 203(a). except that no more than 8 per centum of the additional visas may be made available to immigrants entitled to a preference status under any one of such paragraphs. "(2) Thirty per centur of the additional visas plus any visas not issued under paragraph (1) shall be made available to immi-