PREFACE

Brought into being as an emergency measure by the 83d Congress, Public Law 203 was signed by President Eisenhower and became effective August 7, 1953. The first visa under this new law, known as the Refugee Relief Act of 1953, was issued December 4, 1953 in Italy. Just 3 years and 5 months later 190,235 visas, or 91 percent of the total visas allocated by Congress, had been issued. During the period of the act, there had been a total of 314,551 applications from refugees, expellees, escapees and relatives from more than 40 countries processed by Refugee Relief Act staff members in 32 countries.

Only three "compartments" of the act were not fulfilled. Germany and Austria had 16,068 unused numbers designated for expellees. These visas were reserved by the law for German ethnics who had been displaced into those countries by conditions of war. The improved economy of Germany in the last several years had much to do with the lack of demand for these visas. In the Netherlands, 1,597 visas were unused by refugees and relatives, but an increase in applications in the last months of the act brought the issuance much higher than had been expected. And, in the Far East, 1,100 visas allocated to persons other than natives of the Far East were not issued. White Russians and other European nationalities made use of only about one-fourth of the 2,000 visas reserved for the non-Asian category.

Passage of the Refugee Relief Act marked the second time that the Congress of the United States had passed emergency legislation to assist resettling other nationals in this country. For a second time. immigration barriers maintained for decades were temporarily set aside.

Under previous legislation, which expired at the end of 1951, the United States admitted nearly 400,000 refugees, principally displaced persons from Germany and Austria. The majority of these people were forcibly removed from their homes by the German National Socialist regime when their countries were overrun by the German armies and were transported to Germany as forced laborers. Many of them feared to return to their homelands by reason of the establishment in their countries of Communist dictatorships. The operation of the DP program is detailed in a final report titled "The DP Story," published in 1952.

However, from January 1951, until August 7, 1953, a period of 21⁄2 years, the United States had no special program for admitting refugees. During this period the Communist terror was unceasing, the battle lines of the cold war were more clearly drawn, and the lives of countless thousands of freedom-loving people in countries where communism was in the ascendency were being placed in such jeopardy that, despite the risks involved, more and more were escaping

1 Text of Refugee Relief Act, appendix p. 99.

to the freedom of the West. This movement of escapees to already overcrowded areas intensified problems of overpopulation which were plaguing countries friendly to us in both Europe and the Far East; especially was this the case in Italy, Greece, and in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. It was against this background of increasing numbers of escapees from communism, plus the grave problems of overpopulation, that the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 came into being.

In October of 1956 we heard with sad hearts of the tragedy in Hungary. Later, in a message to Congress, President Eisenhower said:

The eyes of the free world have been fixed on Hungary over 2 months. Thousands of men, women, and children have fled their homes to escape Communist oppression. They seek asylum in countries that are free. Their opposition to Communist tyranny is evidence of a growing resistance throughout the world. Our position of world leadership demands that, in partnership with other nations of the free world, we be in a position to grant them asylum.

Visas designated by the Refugee Relief Act for escapees reaching Austria and Germany were fortunately unused and available in this emergency and were the means of bringing to the United States 6,400 Hungarian escapees as permanent residents. Within 4 weeks of the President's first statement on November 8 indicating the desirability of admitting Hungarian postrevolt escapees, the last of the Refugee Relief Act visas available in Austria had been issued in Vienna. (The balance of the Hungarian escapees admitted under the President's emergency program-26,000 plus came in under a parole provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.)

Reviewing how the act began, its development and its successful conclusion brings into sharp focus the harmonious teamwork between not only the many governmental departments involved, but the nongovernmental agencies of religious, social service, and civic nature, as well as the hundreds of thousands of interested American citizens.

Participation by the voluntary welfare agencies in the obtaining of assurances of sponsorship, transportation, housing, jobs, reception and final resettlement was a necessary contribution to the achievement. Under the national, regional and State leadership of these groups an interested citizenry was given untiring guidance and counsel. Equally important was the contribution of the many Americans who served as members of the 41 governors' committees.

In the great American tradition, here were citizens, government, and voluntary groups meeting their responsibilities to themselves and to the free world. Ever mindful of the great contributions made by so many in this complex government-citizen operation, this document is a final report on the stewardship of the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 which was placed by law in the hands of the Administrator and his

staff.

FINAL REPORT, REFUGEE RELIEF ACT OF 1953

HUMANITARIAN NEED FOR PROGRAM

"Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed to me” ***

This significant, humanitarian phrase, engraved on the Statue of Liberty more than 70 years ago, typifies the traditional concern of Americans for the oppressed, the persecuted.

ex

Again, we find nations shifted from their native lands *** pellees, escapees, refugees, who fled their homes to escape Communist tyranny *** millions of industrious people that had never thought of immigration, now in need of new homes. These are men and women of the same character and integrity as their and our ancestors who, generation upon generation have come to America to find peace and work, to build for themselves new homes in freedom.

PRESIDENT'S LETTER TO THE CONGRESS

"These refugees and escapees, searching desperately for freedom, look to the free world for haven" from President Eisenhower's letter to the Congress reprinted in full herewith:

Hon. RICHARD M. NIXON,

President of the Senate,

Washington, D. C.

THE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, April 22, 1953.

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: We are all aware of the tragic developments of the past several years which have left countless thousands of individuals homeless refugees in the heart of Europe. In recent months the number of refugees has been increased by the steady flow of escapees who have braved death to escape from behind the Iron Curtain. These refugees and escapees, searching desperately for freedom, look to the free world for haven.

In addition, the problem of population pressures continues to be a source of urgent concern in several friendly countries in Europe. It is imperative that we join with the other nations in helping to find a solution to these grave questions. These refugees, escapees, and distressed peoples now constitute an economic and political threat of constantly growing magnitude. They look to traditional American humanitarian concern for the oppressed. International political considerations are also factors which are involved. We should take reasonable steps to help these people to the extent that we share the obligation of the free world.

Therefore, after consideration of all the points of view which have been presented, I recommend, within the framework of the immigra tion laws, the enactment of emergency immigration legislation for the special admission of 120,000 immigrants per year for the next 2 years.

In order to help resolve this current immigration and refugee problem in the tradition of our American policy, I urge that Congress give this recommendation its earliest consideration.

Sincerely,

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER.

HOW IT BEGAN

WHY A REFUGEE RELIEF ACT?

The Refugee Relief Act came into existence as a result of a move spearheaded by President Eisenhower, who felt strongly that it should be our policy, along with other free nations of the world, to take our share of the 9 million refugees, escapees, and expellees from Communist tyranny.

With America's traditional concern for the homeless, the persecuted, and the less fortunate of other lands, one of the first acts of the 83d Congress was the Refugee Relief Act of 1953.

This act, hailed by the President as a significant humanitarian measure and an important contribution toward understanding among the free nations of the world, permitted 214,000 aliens to become permanent residents of the United States. Of these 214,000 aliens, 186,000 were to be refugees and escapees from Communist persecution, both in Europe and Asia; 19,000 were to be close relatives of American citizens and of permanent-resident aliens of the United States; 4,000 were to be orphans; and 5,000 were to be aliens who had already come to the United States as new immigrants and under the conditions specified in this act were permitted to acquire permanent-resident status if they could not return abroad because of persecution or fear of persecution on account of race, religion, or political opinion.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF ENACTMENT

(Public Law 203, 83d Cong.)

For purposes of documentation, the legislative history of this act is recorded chronologically. President Eisenhower, in his letter of April 22, 1953, urged Congress to consider the enactment of emergency legislation for the special admission to the United States of escapees, expellees, and refugees from behind the Iron Curtain. He asked that Congress consider legislation within the framework of the immigration laws to admit 120,000 persons per year for the next 2 succeeding years, calling special attention to population pressures in certain friendly countries, as well as the thousands of homeless refugees in central Europe.

On May 15, 1953, Senator Arthur V. Watkins of Utah, for himself and Senators Wiley of Wisconsin, Hendrickson of New Jersey, Dirksen of Illinois, Taft of Ohio, Bridges of New Hampshire, Langer of North Dakota, Aiken of Vermont, Ferguson of Michigan, Ives of New York, Saltonstall of Massachusetts, Flanders of Vermont, Carlson of Kansas, Bennett of Utah, Bush of Connecticut, Payne of Maine, Young of North Dakota, and Smith of New Jersey, introduced a bill (S. 1917) to authorize the issuance of 240,000 special-quota immigrant visas to certain escapees, German expellees, and nationals of Italy, Greece, and the Netherlands, during the period of 2 years

98444-58--2