Speech #920194528

The relief provided by H.R. 9615 should permit further family reunions and remove most of the present large backlogs. particulary in the case of Italy which is currently 21 months in arrears. Also. it would be senseless to limit this special consideration to only unmarried brothers and sistersparticularly on a permanent basisand we should firmly resist any illconceived efforts to amend this measure. I have carefully examined this legislation and. in light of its temporary 4year nature. am satisfied that it will not return this Nation to the national origins quota system. We are still suffering repercussions from this odious feature of an earlierand in terms of our immigration policies. darkerera and I am certain that the Congress would not repeat such a mistake by even suggesting a return to the quota system. Further. contrary to the views of some of our colleagues. I do not believe that the liberalizing provisions of H.R. 9615 will open any floodgates and I know of no substantive data which would indicate that permitting additional aliens to come to this country will have an adverse effect on our employment situation. Certainly our domestic labor market must be afforded all reasonable protection but the issuance of an additional number of visas during 4 years should not result in the displacement of more workers or be generally detrimental to the labor force. Mr. Chairman. I am encouraged that we are finally taking steps to remove barriers to persons desiring to emigrate to this country and I especially commend the efforts of our colleague from New York . BILL RYAN has been tireless in his efforts to achieve these urgently needed reforms and his years of dedication and hard work are now bearing fruit. He certainly deserves our gratitude for his initiative in this field and I am pleased to support him in this effort. I urge. Mr. Chairman. that todays action signal the first step in a realistic examination of our immigration policies and a thorough reassessment of our procedures for selecting immigrants. Further legislative action is required to banish present discriminatory practices. which amount to nothing more than a standing affront to millions of our citizens and friends overseas. and to demonstrate to the world our dedication to equal and just treatment of immigrants. I very strongly believe the next priority must be the removal of the highly discriminatory annual limitation on Western Hemisphere immigration. It is well known that the imposition of the Western Hemisphere ceiling was a poorly considered. last minute addition necessary to insure Senate approval of the 1965 act. I am certain it was not the intention of the Johnson administration to establish any such ceilings and this unnecessary restriction has certainly not helped our image overseas. It has also led to hard feelings on the part of many Latin American nations. The ceiling of 120.000 placed on this hemisphere by the Congress has caused incredible personal hardship and has had very serious effects on business and commercial relations. Not only are families heartlessly separated and commercial activities disrupted but this Western Hemisphere quota unfortunately recalls the era of the national origins quota system and the reprehensive AsiaPacific Triangle quota. Although these two outmoded and discriminatory aspects of earlier immigration policies were abolished some 7 years ago. the question as to "where were you born" still has not yet been eliminated from the questions which Latin Americans must answer in establishing their eligibility for immigration. It is perfectly obvious that positive action must be taken to remove this highly undesirable feature of the immigration law--one which simply exacerbates already strained relations with many of our Latin American neighbors. A clear indication that such action is both necessary and desirable was the enactment in the last Congress of a measure which exempted certain business and managerial personnel from the Western Hemisphere limitation. Also. I remind this body that the Select Commission on Western Hemisphere Immigration. established by the 1965 law. recommended against imposing the ceiling but no legislative action was taken and it became effective in June 1968. Latin Americans are also the victims of discriminatory treatment by the current provision of the immigration law which denies them the opportunity to adjust their status on the same basis as aliens from other lands. I have sponsored legislation repealing this offensive section of the Immigration and Nationality Act and again urge that we move for its prompt enactment. I am pleased that the distinguished chairman of the House Immigration Subcommittee has scheduled hearings on this issue in May. I am hopeful some positive action will be taken to abolish these offensive provisions of the immigration laws and that prospective immigrants from South and Central America and the Caribbean will finally be accorded just and unprejudiced consideration. In the coming weeks I will be offering specific legislation to remove the Western Hemisphere limitation and return our country to our traditional ideals by giving no one area or group special consideration. Furthet. my proposed legislation will revise the present labor certification requirement in an effort to preclude numerous inequities in this area. Also. it will establish a Board of Visa Appeals in the Department of State responsible for reviewing the denials of immigrant visas to relatives of American citizens or permanent residents. The foregoing are just a few of the features of a measure I will introduce to facilitate and assist persons to emigrate to our country. rather than to make it virtually impossible in many instances. and to end present discriminatory features. especially against our Latin neighbors. Passage of H.R. 9615 today must be just the first step in a further comprehensive reform of our immigration laws and policies. I welcome and support its enactment and hope we will soon see the implementation of additional revisions.