April 24, 1963
PAGE 7028
OUR NATION OF IMMIGRANTS
Mr. HART. Mr. President, on April 19 the American Immigration and Citizenship Conference held its annual meeting in New York City. One of the highlights of the program was an address by the Senator from Maine [Mr. MUSKIE], in which he called for a revised immigration policy consistent with the historical principles of this Nation.
This was a particularly effective and moving address since the Senator himself is living proof of the enrichment given our national life by immigrants and the children of immigrants.
I ask unanimous consent that the speech of the Senator from Maine, together with President Kennedy's message to the American Citizenship and Immigrant Conference's annual meeting, be printed at this point in my remarks.
There being no objection, the speech was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
OUR NATION OF IMMIGRANTS
(Address by Senator EDMUND S. MUSKIE, Of Maine, American Immigration and Citizenship Conference, Plaza Hotel, New York,
April 19, 1963)
I am an American by birth. I am the Son of an immigrant. I take it that most, if not all, of us in this room are immigrants, or descendants of people who came to these shores from other lands. In that respect, this group is representative of all America.
We are here to discuss whether, and to what extent, others shall be permitted to enjoy these opportunities which, but for the accident of time might today be denied to some of us.
Certainly, we are not the first to concern ourselves with this subject. It is not new. It is older than the Republic itself. It has its origin in that far distant day when the first settlers came here seeking wider and unobstructed horizons of freedom and opportunity. It was then that the picture of America, as a land where the hopes and aspirations of all mankind might be realized began to emerge. Since then, the brush strokes of changing public policy have alternately brightened and darkened that picture.
Volumes of material are available to those who would trace the history of our national immigration policy. They would begin with the early days when immigration was eagerly encouraged as a necessity if we were to develop our economic and cultural potential. They would trace it through the devious paths of prejudice and intolerance. They would note the pessimism of those who, from time to time expressed the view that America had reached the limit of her capacity to grow and to absorb more newcomers -- only to be confounded by a new period of dynamic expansion. And, having completed their study to the present day, they would have found little justification in history for the illogical and inequitable restrictions of our present law.
Interesting and productive as such a study would be, I choose to turn from such historical detail to what I consider to be the basic questions involved:
1. Does our national immigration policy present a true picture of America to the world?
2. If not, would it be sound, in terms of our best interests, to change that picture by changing that policy?
You will forgive me, I trust, if I answer the first of these two questions by touching briefly upon my own background. My father's father was a farmer in Russian-occupied Poland prior to the turn of the century. He shared the intense patriotism and love of liberty which has preserved the identity of my ancestors as a people through centuries of oppression. He early determined that his youngest son, my father, should have an opportunity to build a better and freer life than appeared possible under the czarist tyranny.
And so it was that, in his early teens, my father was apprenticed to a tailor. At the age of 17 having learned his trade, he left his home, embarking upon a new life, preferring the bright prospect of the unknown and unfamiliar freedom to his oppression darkened homeland.
What he found here forever justified his hopes and his father's faith. At his knee, I have heard him reminisce, for hours on end, out of the fullness of his heart, upon his boyhood life -- the close family ties which bound him to loved ones he was never to see again, the warmth at his father's house, the joys and pleasures of his childhood. It could not have been easy for him to leave them behind. He talked to me of these things because he wanted to relive them. But he had a deeper purpose.
Increasingly, as the years passed by and my comprehension grew, he drove home his lesson. What he had lost had been more than offset by what he had gained -- for himself, for his father, and for me. Here, if a man had ability, he could express it without fear of reprisal. Here, if a man disagreed with governmental policy, he could say so, and, more than that, he could do something about it by casting his ballot at the polls. Here, a man was completely free to reap the fruits of his own integrity, intellectual and physical capacity, his own work. There were no heights to which he could not strive. It mattered not what his national background, his religious or political beliefs, his economic status in life might be.
On the evening of my inauguration as Governor of the State of Maine, he turned to me and said, very simply, "Now I can die happy." A few months later the final chapter of his life was written. I am sure that, in the closing moments, he must have thought of the strange and wonderful destiny which had so astonishingly vindicated his beliefs which had uprooted his life.
If the national origins quota system is based on truth, then my father's life was built on lies. There is no way of reconciling the two.
The national origins quota system says to the world that we consider certain national and ethnic groups to be better and more desirable as Americans than others. It says to the world that there are superior and inferior peoples, depending upon race, national background, religion, color. It says to the world that creative ability, intellectual capacity, and high moral and spiritual principles have been allocated by the Creator to some peoples to a greater extent than to others. Logically, it implies more than that.
If the peoples of different countries vary in their capacity to contribute to what we are and hope to be, so that their entry into this country must be controlled accordingly, then those who are now citizens must also vary in the same way. This suggests that there should be classes of citizenship in this country. Some of us should be allowed to vote freely, others not. We should have classes of citizenship rigidly defined on the basis of economic status, racial and national origin, political beliefs, and creed. This is not a true picture of America. It is not the picture we should hold out to the world.
In 1789, Benjamin Franklin described America in essence when he wrote to David Hartley these words:
"God grant that not only the love of liberty but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man, may pervade all the nations of the earth, so that a philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its surface, and say 'This is my country'."
The second question I have posed is this. Would it be sound, in terms of our best interests, to change that picture by changing that policy?
May I again use a simple illustration to make my point?
In the 1860's the Maine Legislature concerned itself with the problem of inducing settlements in the unpeopled townships of the State. A commission was created to study the problem. As a result of its work, an agent was sent to Sweden, with instructions to make vigorous efforts to establish a Swedish colony in Maine. Within 10 weeks he had brought to Maine 22 men, 11 women, and 18 children-including a pastor, farmers, a civil engineer, a blacksmith, 2 carpenters, a basketmaker, a baker, a tailor, and a shoemaker. They carved a home out of the wilderness of northern Maine. New immigrants followed. Within 6 years the population had increased to 600 who had built a prosperous community of 130 houses, barns, 2 steam sawmills, 1 water power sawmill and the incidental business establishments. At the end of 5 years, 133 men applied for citizenship.
Mr. G. A. Hedlund wrote to the Governor of Maine, as follows:
"May the young colony of New Sweden grow and flourish, not only in material strength, but even in developing their moral and intellectual faculties. And may the new population thus add to your State and to your great Republic a good and healthy element of moral power from the old world, and, becoming imbued with the spirit of your free institutions, reflect that spirit on their native land.
"What we have lost at present in the old fatherland, will then not have been lost to humanity: On the contrary, the trees have only been transplanted on a fresher soil, where they will thrive better, and give richer and more abundant fruits. God bless the harvest. God bless your land."
We have, in this simple story, an illustration of two important points:
1. The fact that new blood, new energies, and the qualities of character and mind which these people bring to us are an immeasurable contribution to our greater growth. Our culture, our economy, and our defense have been strengthened by the contributions which they and their sons and daughters have made to our way of life.
2. The picture of America which was presented to the people of Sweden by Maine's agent, the warm and cordial reception given to the immigrants, created a storehouse of good will in the old country which could not be bought in any other way.
In this day when we are selling the product which is America in a market where there is fierce competition, we must preserve the purity and quality of what we offer. To insure that we do, we can and should welcome those from every land who, on the basis of their own merit, demonstrate their qualifications. There is always room for a good man in a dynamic, growing, fearless America. The total numbers admitted should be geared to our needs. There should be safeguards designed to exclude undesirables. But let the standards be consistent with the principles which were so unhesitatingly embraced by the Founding Fathers.
I have intentionally avoided the complexities and technical details of legislation in this field. We should first concern ourselves with what is right and what is wrong. Then, having established the principles which should govern our decisions, and holding unwaveringly to them, we can quite readily spell out the corrective legislation which is needed.
We should, most certainly, give attention to the following:
1. A unified, single quota divorced from all considerations of national origin
2. The granting of asylum to those suffering from political, religious, and economic persecution.
3. The attracting of those whose skills, aptitudes, knowledge, and experience may be necessary or desirable for the national welfare.
4. The necessity for relieving population pressures which create tensions and unrest anywhere in the free world.
These are realistic standards. They are humane standards.
President Kennedy, long a vigorous exponent of more equitable immigration laws, has endorsed the principle of reform, as has former President Eisenhower. And there seems to be widespread support for reform in the House. Thus, the prospects at this time must be rated as favorable.
But the battle is far from over, and it would be the worst folly for us to relax our efforts now. Rather we must continue and even expand our efforts to achieve wider public understanding in an attempt to insure ultimate success; for that success will be largely dependent upon public understanding of this problem.
I do not believe that America has reached its peak, politically, economically, or culturally. I do not believe that our efforts should be directed only toward consolidating what we have. The world is expanding in every dimension and I believe the United States should be and will be in the forefront of that expansion.
Into American hands has been passed the burden of carrying, for all humanity, the torch of liberty in these perilous times. As long as men remain enslaved, as long as children remain hungry, America's destiny will remain unfulfilled.
PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S MESSAGE TO THE AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CONFERENCE, PLAZA HOTEL, NEW YORK, APRIL 19, 1963
I am pleased to extend through Senator MUSKIE my best wishes for the success of this year's annual meeting of the American Immigration and Citizenship Conference. I also wish to take advantage of this opportunity to express my appreciation of the continuing role which the American voluntary agencies play in the relief of refugees and other distressed persons throughout the world. I am also aware of the part you play in bringing to the attention of the public the needs in the field of immigration and naturalization. We are now engaged in an intensive search for legislative formula designed to serve our national interests and our role as leader of the free world.
We welcome the cooperation of your member agencies in our efforts.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
President of the United States.