Speech #910019043

Speaker. I was proud to be among the 37 Members of the House who joined Congressman RYAN on the opening day of the 91st Congress in sponsoring legislation. H.R. 165. to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act. The legislation we proposed would guarantee an annual floor for the number of visas available to any given country. based on the average annual number of visas issued to that country during the 10year period. 195665. Every country would be guaranteed 75 percent of that annual average. or 10.000 visas. whichever was less. These visas would be provided in addition to the quota of 170.000 a year for the Eastern Hemisphere countries. so countries not in need of this safeguard would not be restricted by it in the number of visas available to them. As an example of the need for this legislation. under the old national origins quota system. Ireland had an annual allotment of 17.765 visas. During the 10year period. 195665. the actual number used averaged about 7.000 a year. Under the preferencecategory system established by the 1965 immigration amendments. an estimated 500 visas have been issued to Ireland for the first half of fiscal 1969. The legislation which I have cosponsored would guarantee Ireland 75 percent of 7.000. or about 5.300 visas a year. . The beloved late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. one of our greatest Irish Americans. told Congress in a special immigration message regarding proposed reforms of the inequitable national origins quota system: The enactment of this legislation will not resolve all our important problems in the field of immigration. It will. however. provide a sound basis upon which we can build in developing an immigration law that serves the national interest and reflects in every detail the principles of equality and human dignity to which our Nation subscribed. I believe that this is exactly the point of view we must maintain toward the 1965 amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Actthey provide a sound basis upon which to build. Prompt legislative action should be taken to correct obvious inequities. particularly whenas in the present casethese inequities so obviously violate the intent of the 1965 legislation. The 1965 amendments abolished the old national origins quota system which dated back to the Immigration Act of 1924. and replaced it with new criteria of eligibility designed. first. to reunite families and. second. to bring professionals and those of exceptional talent. as well as needed skilled and unskilled labor. into the country. Italy. as an example. has benefited immensely from this new system. Whereas under the old system they had an annual allotment of 5.666 and a waiting list of several hundred thousand. they now are eligible for the percountry limit of 20.000 visas a year and. as a result of the twoandahalfyear transitional pooling period following enactment of the amendments. now have a serious waiting list for only the fifth preference category. brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. Irish immigration. in contrast. has been drastically reduced. a consequence of the 1965 amendments which was completely unforeseen and unintended. Given the advantage of hindsight. the causes of this situation are not difficult to assess. The Irish fall through the sevencategory preference system like water through a sieve.