Senator Capper’s bill to exclude aliens from the population estimate for Congressional apportionment which he recently introduced, is in the form of a Senate joint resolution to amend Section 2, Article 14 of the United States Constitution, as his proposal cannot be effected without such Constitutional amendment. The section of the Constitution reads as follows: “Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.” Senator Capper’s amendment would add at the end of this sentence, “and aliens,” so that it would read “excluding Indians not taxed, and aliens.”
Before Senator Capper’s resolution can take effect as an amendment to the Constitution, it must be adopted, under Article 5 of the Constitution, by two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress and ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of all the States.
A proposal to amend the immigration law so as to grant preference within the quota to expert technicians required by American industries was discussed and referred to a sub-committee headed by Chairman Johnson. Such experts are now being admitted on a temporary status of business visitors and, according to the Labor Department, their continued applications for extensions of stay is creating a problem. A suggestion was considered by the committee to give this class a non-quota status, but the sentiment seemed opposed to it.
If this proposed change in the law is adopted, it will further reduce the quota of preference relatives.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
