The McCarran-Walter Immigration Act and the Refugee Relief Act were criticized today in a resolution by the B’nai B’rith Women’s Supreme Council, which is holding its biennial convention here. The Council representing 150,000 women in the United States and Canada, charged that the McCarran-Walter Act discriminates against immigrants because of their national origin and race. It called upon Congress to replace the national origins quota system with a more flexible one.
The B’nai B’rith women declared that administrative restrictions had nullified the intent of the Refugee Relief Act of 1953. They called for full equality under the law for naturalized citizens.
In other resolutions, the B’nai B’rith women urged the government to ratify the Genocide Convention, and to reconsider its position against signing any human rights covenants. They applauded the steps that have been taken by states, school committees and school administrators to eliminate discrimination and segregation in education, and pledged renewed efforts to fight racial and religious segregation in housing.
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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.