Speech #930201036

I rise in support of this bill. Mr. Speaker. the bill before us now amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to waive the English language requirement for any alien over 50 years of age who has been living in the United States for 20 years or more at the time when application for naturalization is filed. This bill is consistent with recent legislation setting conditions for removal of literacy tests as a prerequisite for voting. In other words. this bill merely updates the current law to conform it to the basic 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act. Under existing law. an alien need not be literate in English only if such an alien were on December 24. 1952. over 50 years of age and then had lived in the United States for periods totaling at least 20 years. This bill relieves any alien living in this country for a period totaling 20 years or more who is over 50 years of age from the requirement of an understanding of the English language. In 1952. the Congress. and the Department of Justice. felt that persons of a specific age who had resided in this country for a specific period of time should be exempted from the English language requirement. There is no reason why that policy should not be the policy in 1974. There is. in short. no reason to exclude from naturalization proceedings those applicants with identical qualifications who reach a specified age and complete the necessary period of residence at a later date. More than 21 years have passed since the cutoff date prescribed in the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act. Those who could claim the exemption from the requirement of understanding the English language would have to be at least 71 years of age and have lived in this country for as much as 41 years. The principles underlying the legislation are not altered by permitting those who reach age 50 and who complete the 20 years of residence after the 1952 cutoff date to be exempted from the requirement of understanding the English language.