Speech #930120756

Chairman. I rise in support of this legislation. H.R. 981. to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act. I feel that passage of this bill will result in an immigration system which is fair and equitable for all the nations and peoples of the world. The most important provision in this legislation is the establishment of a realistic 20.000person limitation on the number of immigrant visas which can be issued to one country. This provision will end. at long last. the archaic "quota system" of immigration which blatantly discriminated against thousands of persons. who were denied admission to the United States because of their nationality. At the same time. this section would also eliminate the equally unfair "special treatment policy" afforded certain nations at the expense of others. There are other important provisions in this legislation which I fully support and commend the committee for taking up. Section 5. in particular. deals with a grave problem. namely. that of the refugee. and his place in our immigration policy. In the past. the conditions under which a person could enter this country as a refugee. were extremely limited. H.R. 931 seeks to remedy this unfortunate situation. The bill includes two new important provisions under which a person can enter as a refugee. For the first time. refugees can now come from the Western Hemisphere. In the past. only those persons from the Eastern Hemisphere were allowed. Recent events in Latin America. particularly in Clle and Argentina. as well as the threat of. and presence of communism. in other Latin American countries seems to dictate the need for this important revision in the law. Now the beleaguered peoples of these lands still have the opportunities to escape to freedom. The continuing plight of the Jews of the Soviet Union. and Iraq. those of Assyrian ancestry. the residents of Northern Ireland as well as all other persons who must endure persecution at the hands of their homeland governments. can now look to the United States for relief. In this legislation. there is a section which expands the definition of "refugee" to include those persons who can claim that a return to their homeland will result in persecution. or those that can show a "wellfounded fear of persecution on account of race. religion. or nationality." Mr. Chairman. the immigrant in this country has had a long and distinguished history. Many individuals who entered this country as immigrants have worked themselves into positions of prominence in our society. This legislation which we are considering today seeks to promote an even fairer opportunity for people throughout the world to enter the United States. It attempts to provide these persons who suffer persecution an opportunity to live in freedom.