House Immigration Committee Approves 2 Year Alien Stoppage

The House Immigration Committee voted yesterday to suspend all immigration for a period of only two years, instead of five years as was originally suggested in the Johnson Bill. This makes the House bill in accord with the Reed bill introduced in the Senate.

Wives and minor children of alien residents who are legally in the United States will be excepted from the suspension clause and will be allowed to remain in the present category of quota preference immigrants, provided they have registered with American consuls for visas before midnight of yesterday. Those who have not done so would under this vote be barred under the two years’ suspension clause.

The clause prohibiting the admission of Russian subjects was stricken from the bill. This clause was aimed against Communists and would have prohibited the admission of immigrants who are citizens of any country with which no diplomatic relations exist.

Representative Dickstein of New York was mainly instrumental in carrying out these amendments. Regarding the proposal to suspend immigration for five years, which on motion of Mr. Dickstein was reduced to two years, the New York Congressman said:

“The five-year suspension would imply we expected the depression to last five years. If it lasted that long, we would have a revolution.”

The Immigration Committee will meet again today and Mr. Dickstein, who is its ranking minority member, will ask that the clause which allows the admission of relatives who have registered with American consuls up to yesterday be changed to allow admission of relatives who have registered up to the time the bill goes into effect.

The House Immigration Committee also voted yesterday to admit outside the quota husbands of American citizens who married before midnight last night.