Speech #960167416

This is a direct result of additional staff and funding under the directorship of Walter J. Rockler. a former Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal prosecutor. and Deputy Director Martin Mendelsohn. The move by Congress to redouble our Governments efforts to find suspected Nazi criminals in the United States began when Congress amended the immigration law last year to facilitate deportation of "all aliens who persecuted any person on the basis of race. religion. national origin. or political opinion under the direction of the Nazi Government of Germany." My distinguished colleague from New York. Congresswoman ELIZABETH HOLTZMAN who chairs the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration. Refugees. and International Law. led the fight to enlist the cooperation of the Justice Department in this longoverdue effort. The Justice Department finally responded to the congressional pressure by agreeing to transfer the Office of Special Investigations from the Immigration and Naturalization Service to the Criminal Division. thereby upgrading the Office. It is indeed tragic that our Government has not committed itself until now to investigate. prosecute. and deport from the United States all those who participated in Nazi Germanys systematic murder of 11 million people. 6 million of whom were Jews. Given the number of cases requiring investigation. the delays that are inevitably encountered. and the ages of the suspects and witnesses involved. it is imperative that our support continue until the job is done once and for all.