STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE A. J. SABATH, REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM ILLINOIS, BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY SUBMITTED IN WRITING JUNE 26, 1947 Mr. Chairman, as you are aware, I am, myself, the author of H. R. 464, a bill to provide for the admission of certain displaced persons to the United States for permanent residence, which I introduced on January 6, 1947. My bill provides that a number of displaced persons equal to the total number of unused immigration quotas for all nationalities for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1947, and June 30, 1948, shall be admitted to the United States for permanent residence at any time prior to December 31, 1948. The effect of this bill would be, of course, to open quotas for two current years to the tragic victims of Nazi aggression and horror in Europe and speed the task of mankind to help these frightened starving people to build new lives. Since my main interest is, however, in supporting any practicable and acceptable means of aiding the victims of Hitler, without regard to race, religion, or nationality, I wish to express my full support of the Stratton bill, H. R. 2910, and to urge its favorable report. At the same time, recognizing that much of the opposition to the Stratton bill is based upon the fact that under its provisions the quota is more or less set aside for the benefit of 400,000 displaced persons, I should like to point out that my bill might well prove an acceptable substitute, since it would provide only for the use of unused quotas for the 2 years in the immediate future. Let me recall that for 24 years of my 41 years in Congress I was a member of the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization of this House. Most of the present immigration laws were adopted during my service on that committee. My attitude has been consistent. I have recognized the necessity in the modern complex world of providing some restrictions on the free flow of human migration. I have believed that criminals, the insane, public charges, and other categories of definitely undesirable immigrants should be screened out. But I have also insisted and urged and pleaded that restrictions apply equally to all people without any discrimination based upon national or racial derivation, and that the restrictions be the minimum required for national security and international comity. Because the entire world was the intended victim of the madman Hitler, and because the helpless, defenseless people of Germany and the European areas conquered by the Hitler armies and the Hitler ideologies were sacrificed to the benefit of the rest of the world, it is now a world responsibility to do everything within human capacity to help restore these tragic victims to useful and productive lives. The record of these hearings has been filled with statistics, so I shall not burden you with further recapitulations of facts already known to you. I address myself rather to the humanitarian aspects of the problem. Traditionally, the Western Hemisphere has been the refuge of all people fleeing from religious persecution, political repression, or economic desperation. Every nation in the world, every religious cult, every racial stock, has contributed to the greatness of the United States and its sister nations in North and South America. Immigrants have developed and made great this land. It has been the common task and common glory of mankind. We are not crowded in this country. There are still frontiers-frontiers of land, frontiers of the mind. We can absorb easily those human being who dream of coming to this free land from the oppression and misery they have known in Europe. These helpless people, deprived of every opportunity of rebuilding their lives, originated in practically every one of the war-torn nations of Europe. In religious faith they are predominantly Roman Catholic; some are Greek Orthodox; some are Russian Orthodox; some are Mohammedan; between one-fifth and one-sixth are Jews. Slavic and Teutonic people predominate overwhelmingly. Many of the refugees are women and children. I should like to remind you of the Christian invitation, "Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." The women and children and elderly men will, of course, go to the homes of relatives, or friends, or to the residence halls of welfare agencies which have sponsored and guaranteed their maintenance. They cannot conceivable affect the housing shortage, nor can they threaten the employment of American workingmen. Let me remind the committee that the stupendous total of 58,000,000 persons are gainfully employed in the United States today, and that there is no indication of a slowing up of demand for many years to come. We actually need the labor and industrial experience of the relatively few able-bodied men who would be able to come over here. The children will be received with open arms and fully supported by blood or foster relatives. Mr. Chairman, there is a pathetic malady to which human flesh is heir. It is commonly called xenophobia. It means an irrational fear of what is strange or unknown. I suppose there is no real cure for xenophobia; but it is possible to expose to the reasonable and informed members of this committee some of the curious misconceptions of the xenophobes. There have appeared before you in the course of these hearings some gentlemen who have been long known to me and perhaps to you. Their morbid dread of the new and the unknown is so obvious it scarcely needs my pointing up. However, I must point out to you that this dread has given rise to the most amazing misstatements or distortions of facts. This is nothing new. As far back as 1790, when the population of the United States was only three to four million souls, there was strong agitation to bar all further immigration lest those here first should be crowded out and foreign ideas brought in. I can recollect reading, many years ago, the report of the Commission on Restriction of Immigration appointed in 1790, and reconstituted in 1810, and can, I think, recall the exact words with which the report began: "We look with apprehension on the great influx of undesirables who are filling our poorhouses and our penal institutions, overcrowding our cities, and overflowing our maritime borders." We realize now that the findings of that commission and its fears were unjustified. The country was never harmed by immigration. On the other hand, it is conceded by every authority that immigration developed our resources, enriched our history, added vastly to our wealth, and contributed to our culture. In every war, and especially in the two World Wars, immigrants and the sons of immigrants proved their loyalty and devotion to the last full measure. You have had before you John B. Trevor, a perennial witness before congressional committees, who has been chewing this soiled rag of xenophobia and anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism for some 40 years. You have heard the badlymixed-up Merwyn K. Hart, who fears all things foreign except the Spanish despot, Franco, and Mussolini's corporate state. You have heard a few others of the same ilk who deal in reckless and unfounded misstatements and exaggerations to which no credence should be given by the thoughtful and unprejudiced members of your committee. You have, from the other side, heard in support of the bill such distinguished Americans as Gen. John H. Hilldring; Justice Owen Roberts, of the United States Supreme ourt; William Green, the president of the American Federation of Labor; the Reverend Samuel McCrea Cavert, of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, speaking for the united voice of most Protestant Churches; Bishop William T. Mulloy for the Roman Catholic Church in America; my friend, Charles Rozmarek, of the Polish Congress; and the Honorable Ugo Carusi, Commissioner of Immigration and spokesman for the national administration. Ten Members of Congress, including myself, have formally urged favorable consideration. Against the statements of this great weight of authority and enlightenment, I do not believe the committee can or will give serious consideration to the narrow selfishness of the opponents. There are no new arguments to be advanced on this subject. The question must be and will be decided on the basis of selfishness and self-defeat; or it will be decided in the beneficial light of progress and selflessness which, in the brief span of 170 years, has made this Nation the greatest power on earth. I hope sincerely that this committee will be swayed by noble humanitarianism, supported by the facts of history. The Stratton bill has been endorsed and recommended and urged by scores of outstanding American leaders and organizations; it is opposed only by the misguided and professional opponents of immigration, still reciting the same misstatements of a century ago. I am confident, and I hope that the committee will favorably report this bill, or an acceptable substitute which will be directed toward the same end. Mr. FELLOWS. I have here a tabulation submitted by Mr. Carusi of the estimated alien population in the United States by countries. Without objection, that will be incorporated in the record at this point. (The tabulation referred to is as follows:) Estimated alien population in the United States June 30, 1946 Mr. FELLOWS. We will meet again on Friday at 10 o'clock. (Thereupon at 12:40 p. m., the subcommittee adjourned until 10 a. m., Friday, June 27, 1947.) PERMITTING ADMISSION OF 400,000 DISPLACED FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 1947 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 10 a. m., Hon. Frank Fellows, chairman of the subcommittee, presiding. Mr. FELLOWS. The hearing will come to order. Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. Chairman, may I offer at this time to be placed in the record the following resolutions, both in favor of the Stratton bill and those against it? First, that of the Butler Council of Protestant Churches, of Butler, Pa., a resolution offered at a regular monthly meeting of the Butler Council of Protestant Churches, June 12, 1947, favoring the enactment of the Stratton bill into law. May I offer the resolution of the Presbytery of Beaver, Beaver County, Pa., my home county, favoring the enactment of this into law? This is dated June 24, 1947. Next, that of the State Council of the Fennsylvania Junior Order of United American Mechanics, protesting against the enactment of this bill into law. Next, the resolution of the National Council, Junior Order of United American Mechanics, protesting the enactment of the bill into law. Next, the Beaver Falls Ministerial Association, of Beaver Falls, Pa., favoring the enactment of the bill into law. I would like to have these five placed in the record. Mr. FELLOWS. Very well, sir. Without objection, it is so ordered. (The documents referred to are as follows:) BUTLER COUNCIL OF PROTESTANT CHURCHES, Butler, Pa., June 23, 1947. RESOLUTION OFFERED AT THE REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING OF THE BUTLER COUNCIL OF PROTESTANT CHURCHES, JUNE 12, 1947 Whereas one of the basic principles of our Christian religion is a genuine concern for the whole welfare of our fellow men; and Whereas there are now almost a million of our fellow men classified as displaced persons and living in detention areas in the British and American zones in Germany; and 309 |