beginning 120 days after the enactment of such act, which was to be cited as the "Emergency Migration Act of 1953."

The Subcommittee on Immigration and Naturalization of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate met to consider the emergency legislation of escapees, expellees and refugees on Tuesday, May 26, 1953, under the chairmanship of Senator Watkins. The committee conducted hearings from May 26 to May 28 and July 1 of 1953 on S. 1917.

At the opening of these hearings, Senator Watkins stated:

President Eisenhower has recommended the enactment of emergency immigration legislation, within the framework of the immigration laws, which would demonstrate in a concrete fashion this country's concern for and support of escapees from communism, expellees from communism, and the distressed nationals of certain European nations within the community of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The President emphasized that the plight of those made homeless by tyranny and the population pressures caused by forced migration constitute a political and moral problem of constantly growing magnitude. He also made it clear that it is imperative, in our own interest, that we join with the other nations of the free world in helping to find a solution to these grave, human problems (S. Rept. 629, 83d Cong., 1st sess.).

The first witness to be heard by the committee was the Honorable Walter Bedell Smith, Under Secretary of State, who pointed out that the interest of the Department of State in the proposed legislation was primarily because of its foreign-policy implications. The humanitarian aspects of the program were obvious, Mr. Smith continued. He pointed out that its effect upon our relations with our European allies would be most favorable and the adoption of the legislation would assist in relieving situations which, under certain circumstances, would adversely affect the national security of the United States by undermining the economic and political stability of our allies.

With reference to the problems of population pressure and escape from persecution, Mr. Smith said that during and after World War II the pressures from basic overpopulation increased tremendously. He attributed this in part to the virtual cessation of migration during the war years. Millions of people became refugees while other millions, because they were Germans, were expelled from their homes in Eastern Europe.

The witness remarked that most of the nations of the free world had made a considerable effort to alleviate this situation. Our own Displaced Persons Act of 1948 resulted in the admission to the United States of nearly 400,000 persons from Germany, Austria and Italy. The work of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration was cited. This Committee, known as ICEM, included the United States and 26 other governments. The ICEM planned to move 120,000 people from Europe in 1953 and 140,000 in 1954. In addition, it was recalled that since 1945 Canada had admitted some 775,000 European immigrants, Australia 720,000, and the countries of Latin America about 125,000 yearly.

In the course of the Under Secretary's testimony, the great problem of overpopulation in Italy was gone into in detail. It was emphasized that the proposed legislation would take care of Italians who had returned to Italy from Ethiopia, North Africa and the Venezia Giulia area after the war. The critical overpopulation in the Netherlands and in Greece was also described.

The Under Secretary of State was followed by the Honorable Martin P. Durkin, Secretary of Labor. An important part of the

Secretary of Labor's testimony was in relation to the effect of the bill on American employment security. Of significance was this state

ment:

There is one point I should like to review briefly. If the Congress authorizes the admission of 240,000 special-quota Europeans over a period of 2 years, under the safeguards provided in this bill, would the job security of American citizens in the factory or on the farm be prejudiced? The answer is an emphatic "No."

The Secretary of Labor pointed out that under the proposed legislation refugees would not be brought into the United States unless jobs were available for them either in agriculture or industry.

In the course of testimony in favor of the Refugee Relief Act, the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Mr. Argyle R. Mackey, gave the following statement graphically describing the need for legislation under discussion:

The misery and oppression of life under communism have given rise to a movement of escape. Thousands have fled and are fleeing across the frontier into the free world. They have risked their lives in evading the border guards and have abandoned their homes, their possessions, and their friends. These determined pilgrims have experienced at first hand the Communist way of life and want no more of it. In this epic flight to the West the escapees have sought to find the freedom denied them under communism.

The people of the free world have encouraged and welcomed these defections. But the burden has fallen most heavily on those of our friends who are least able to shoulder it. The free nations adjacent to the Iron Curtain have been struggling to solve their own problems of overpopulation and to establish their economies on a solid, self-supporting basis. They can hardly be expected to assume this added load of responsibility. This is a matter that must be dealt with by all the free nations working together.

The second major area of difficulty with which the President's emergency program deals is that of excess populations in some of the countries of Europe. This problem most acutely affects several important members of the European community. Thus, our friends in Italy face an unbalanced population pattern attributable in large measure to the consequences of World War II. I am informed that over 600,000 ethnic Italians have come to Italy from the colonies and other areas lost by Italy in the war.

In the course of Mr. Mackey's testimony the committee commented that the bill would apparently permit the issuance of visas to persons who were not in the refugee category, with special reference to Italy, Greece and the Netherlands. The Commissioner agreed that this was one of the purposes of the proposed legislation and pointed out, in reference to the Netherlands, that the denial of opportunity to emigrate, coupled with the repatriation of many thousands of Dutch nationals from the colonies, had visited upon the Dutch a burden of population impossible for them to absorb. He added that the condition in the Netherlands had been aggravated by catastrophic floods. Continuing, Mr. Mackey said:

Another phase of the overpopulation picture in Europe is found in Greece, which is still suffering from the devastation visited upon it during World War II and during the Soviet-inspired civil strife that followed it. With characteristic heroism, the Greek people are striving to conquer adversity, but they are still plagued by the dislocations of war. To our friends in Greece the excess of population over the country's present resources is a source of potential danger which can be removed only if opportunities for emigration are made available.

The final major aspect of the President's emergency program, which obviously is likewise a phase of overpopulation stringencies, relates to the expellees. These are the millions of persons of German ethnic origin who were ejected from the areas conquered by the Soviet armies during World War II. They were dumped upon the war-shattered economy of Western Germany, which has been incapable of assimilating and providing for them.

In reference to security, Mr. Mackey informed the committee as follows:

It is natural that a program of this character should entail some element of risk. The fact that so many of these prospective immigrants recently have come from behind the Iron Curtain counsels us to proceed cautiously. The Department of Justice is charged with responsibility for administering the immigration laws and for safeguarding the internal security of the United States. The Department of Justice is mindful of the care that must be exercised in administering this program so that the safety and welfare of the United States will not be jeopardized. But you can be assured that all possible vigilance will be exercised to protect the security of the United States while executing the important objectives of the President's emergency program.

The measure you are considering contains ample safeguards, in my opinion, against the admittance of those who are undesirable, unworthy, or dangerous. In the first place, it directs in section 3 that each applicant for entry must qualify for admission under the standards prescribed by the Immigration and Nationality Act and thus invokes the comprehensive protections of that statute. Moreover, section 10 requires that a thorough investigation be conducted regarding the character, history, and eligibility of each applicant for the benefits of the statute. The required investigation will assemble all available intelligence and security data and will minimize any risks. It seems to me that with sound and alert administration the procedures envisaged by this legislation fully protect the interests of the United States. This in my judgment is a factor of the highest importance in your appraisal of the proposals now before you.

The Commissioner emphasized that the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act would be applicable under the new legislation except as the law stated otherwise. He pointed out that inspectors of the Immigration and Naturalization Service would conduct examinations abroad and that there would also be a perfunctory inspection upon the arrival of the beneficiaries in the United States.

In the course of the hearings, Mr. Daniel P. Quinn, Catholic Committee for Refugees, New York City, proposed that the committee consider the inclusion in the Refugee Act of a special section providing for orphans.

The Honorable Walter H. Judd, appearing as a witness before the committee, urged the inclusion of provisions in the bill for the relief of escapees from Communist tyranny in China and refugees in the Arab camps in the Middle East pointing out that these people were in more dire straits than many of the refugees from Europe. Dr. Judd, a Member of Congress, referred to the unusual situation in Hong Kong where at the time a million and a quarter refugees and escapees from Communist China were being cared for. He illustrated the refugee picture in Hong Kong by pointing out that the population was only 800,000 at the end of the Second World War but had reached 2%1⁄2 million at the time of the congressional hearings on the Refugee Act.

The Honorable True D. Morse, Under Secretary of Agriculture, testified in favor of the bill and recommended its enactment insofar as agriculture was affected.

Mr. Walter W. Van Kirk, executive director, Department of International Justice and Good Will of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States, and Mr. A. Roland Elliot, Church World Service, New York, with Mr. Clarence E. Crumbholtz, National Lutheran Council, testified in favor of the legislation but expressed the opinion that the bill should be restricted to the relief of refugees.

In the course of his testimony in favor of the bill, the Honorable Jacob K. Javits, then a United States Representative from the State

of New York, suggested the inclusion of a provision for the adjustment of status for escapees and expellees who were in the United States in a temporary status.

Numerous other witnesses testified in the course of the hearings before the appropriate congressional committee, the vast majority of them in favor of the proposed legislation.

The following groups opposed adoption of the Refugee Relief Act: The American Legion, the District of Columbia Federation of Women's Clubs, the American Coalition of Patriotic Societies, the National Society of New England Women and National Society of the Women Descendents of Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Society of the War of 1812.

The opposition of the foregoing groups was based principally on fear of Communist infiltration, anxiety lest the refugees create an unemployment problem by taking jobs from American citizens, and apprehension lest the Refugee Act be a means of circumventing the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The Senate bill (S. 1917) was revised in the Judiciary Committee and was reported favorably to the Senate by Senator Watkins on July 23, 1953.

Meanwhile, the Subcommittee on Immigration and Naturalization (Subcommiteee No. 1) of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, under the chairmanship of Hon. Louis Graham, of Pennsylvania, had been giving concurrent consideration to the President's request for the enactment of emergency migration legislation. Hearings had been held on a number of bills before the subcommittee and testimony had been received from the Government witnesses and others who testified before the Senate subcommittee.

The first congressional floor action on the emergency migration. legislation was on July 28, 1953, when the House of Representatives passed H. R. 6481, a revised counterpart of S. 1917, which was still pending before the Senate. On July 29, 1953, the Senate passed H. R. 6481 with amendments and the legislation went before a SenateHouse conference committee, which issued its report on July 31, 1953, recommending the enactment of H. R. 6481 with certain further amendments which had been worked out by the Senate-House conferees (H. Rept. 1069, 83d Cong., 1st sess.). The conference report was accepted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, the legislation, known as the Refugee Relief Act of 1953, was enacted by Congress, and President Eisenhower approved it on August 7, 1953.

ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION

After President Eisenhower approved the Refugee Relief Act, steps were taken immediately by the Administrator of the Bureau of Security, Consular Affairs, and Personnel, of the Department of State, who was designated in section 2 (d) of the act as the Admnistrator thereof, to organize his office and make plans for the administration of the act by the six existing agencies of the Government operating in the field covered by the act.

The first step was to appoint Mr. Robert C. Alexander, a veteran career officer with more than 30 years' experience in the Department of State, as Assistant Administrator of the Bureau in charge of the refugee relief program. He was then serving as Assistant Director of the Visa Office, of the Department of State, a post he had held for

many years and in which he had become widely known in Congress, throughout the country, and over the entire world.

Steps were immediately taken to obtain unanimous agreement upon a plan of operations among the six agencies of the Government for which Congress had appropriated funds to initiate the program, to present this plan to the Bureau of the Budget and obtain the allocation of the official funds for the administration of the act, to work out the necessary staffing patterns to meet the additional burden imposed upon the existing agencies of the Government, to develop plans for the recruitment, security clearance, appointment, and transportation of the necessary additional personnel, their families and effects, to the foreign posts where they would perform their duties in connection with the administration and enforcement of the law.

EXECUTIVE AND DEPARTMENTAL ORDERS

On the basis of a preliminary plan of operations filed with the Executive Office of the President, Executive Order 10487 was issued by the President on September 16, 1953, transferring to the Department of State funds for the administration of the Refugee Relief Act, which had been appropriated by Congress under the heading "Emergency Migration" appearing in chapter VII of the Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1954 (Public Law 2077, 83d Cong., 1st sess.. approved August 7, 1953). In that Executive order the President also designated the Department of State as the investigative agency of the Government, subject to the provisions of section 2 of the order, which should make and prepare the thorough investigations and the written reports required by section 11 (a) of the Refugee Relief Act, regarding the character, reputation, mental and physical health, history, and eligibility of persons seeking admission into the United States under the act. Section 2 of the Executive order reads:

The Department of the Army and such other agencies of the Government as the Department of State may request shall, in accordance with arrangements agreed upon between the Department of State and any such agency, furnish the Department of State such assistance as it may need in carrying out its responsibilities under section 1 of this order (18 F. R. 5635).

On September 18, 1953, the Secretary of State issued a departmental order (18 F. R. 6268) delegating to the Administrator of the Bureau of Security, Consular Affairs, and Personnel the authority, functions, and responsibility which had been placed in the Department of State by the Executive order. The funds transferred to the Department were then allocated by the Administrator among the six agencies of the Government concerned in the operations under the refugee relief program, according to an outline of their authority, functions, and responsibilities unanimously agreed to by all concerned.

INTERAGENCY OPERATIONS 2

The functional operations of the several departmental and other governmental agencies involved in the program for the administration of the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 were:

Security Office, Department of State

This office recruited and employed, with the Administrator's approval, investigative officers and supporting personnel to conduct

Participating Organizations, appendix, p. 105.