Congressman Samuel Dickstein, a member of the Immigration Committee of the House of Representatives, and one of the leaders of the advocates of a liberal immigration policy, has to-day been elected Chairman of the Immigration Committee of the House, in succession to Congressman Johnson, one of the leaders of the immigration restriction movement, the “father” of the 1924 Immigration Restriction Quota Law and one of the chief advocates of the Registration of Aliens Plan.
It is the first time in the history of the United States that a Jew and a pro-immigrationist, has been selected to hold this important office.
It was suggested last month, when the possibility of Congressman Dickstein being appointed Chairman of the Immigration Committee was first mentioned, that if he obtained the position, he will summon the Secretary of State, Mr. Stimson, and the Secretary of Labour and Immigration, Mr. Doak, to explain on what grounds they instituted administrative restrictions of immigration without authorisation from Congress.
Congressman Johnson issued a statement in Washington on November 12th., in which he claimed that “regardless of who may be Chairman of the House Committee on Immigration and Naturalisation in the coming session of Congress, the Committee is bound to be extremely active. The public is demanding laws which will cause more deportations of criminal aliens. There is an increasing call for registration of aliens and for the extension of the quota system of restriction to countries of this hemisphere”.
Congressman Dickstein is himself an immigrant, having been born in Russia, although he obtained his education in America. He is 46 years of age, and the son of the Rev. Israel Dickstein. He is a lawyer by profession, and served in 1911-14 as special Deputy Attorney-General in the State of New York. He became a member of the New York State House of Representatives in 1919, and has been a member of the United States Congress since 1923. He is the author of many housing laws and of the kosher laws of New York State.
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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.
