“With all good wishes in this excellent work, I am “Very sincerely yours, “Franklin D. Roosevelt.”
The resettlement policy of the National Refugee Service, Inc., which last year settled more than 5,000 newcomers out of the crowded ports of entry in cities in the interior, was characterized as “of value not only to the immigrant, but to the Nation also,” by President Roosevelt in a letter to NRS President William Rosenwald, made public today. The letter follows:
“Every American must be proud that throughout these troubled years our country has held fast to its tradition of providing a haven of refuge for those who had to flee from other lands. It is necessary today, more than ever before, that this tradition of asylum be maintained.
“Our responsibility to those who come to our shores to share our freedom and our democracy cannot end with the issuance of a visa. It is, therefore, fortunate that many agencies have assumed the responsibility of helping these new Americans to become good Americans.
“The work which the National Refugee Service, Inc. has been doing to facilitate the adjustment of the refugees who have come to the United States has been most constructive. Its resettlement program, which seeks to distribute these newcomers away from the large cities on the eastern seaboard, is especially significant. Such resettlement is of value not only to the immigrant himself, but to the Nation also. It may well be that the experience which you have had in providing for an orderly adjustment of the refugees who have come to our shores in recent years may provide a model of constructive absorption of immigrants into our economic and social life.
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.
