Humanization of Immigration Laws Demanded at Mass-meeting

About 4,000 people attended a mass meeting at Carnegie Hall Sunday evening, January 10th, and adopted resolutions requesting the Congress of the United States to humanize the immigration law by permitting husbands, wives and children of American citizens and declarants for citizenship to enter the United States as non-quota immigrants.

The meeting was held under the auspices of the Jewish Council of Greater New York, which is a branch of the American Jewish Congress. The chairman of the meeting was the Hon. Carl Sherman, who was introduced by Dr. Mordecai Soltes, president of the Jewish Council.

While the speakers criticized the general restrictive features of the immigration law, they made a specific appeal for the adoption by Congress of the bills introduced by Congressman Nathan D. Perlman and Senator James W. Wadsworth, Jr. of New York, which provides a way for reuniting families now separated under the law.

The speakers were Dr. Stephen S. Wise, representatives Nathan D. Perlman, Alfred L. Mills, F. H. La Guardia, Emanuel Celler, Dr. Alfred W. Anthony, representing the Federal Council of Churches, B. C. Vladek, Manager of the “Jewish Daily Forward,” and Max J. Kohler.

Dr. Wise, who received a tremendous ovation when he was introduced, declared that he came to speak as an American citizen and to appeal for a measure of justice which was denied by the Immigration Law of 1924. He also condemned the bill for registration of aliens as one which “strikes at the very heart of America and it leads them to believe that many Americans are far more eager to hurt the alien than they are to help their country.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, the following resolution, proposed by Dr. Soltes, was unanimously adopted:

“Whereas, the present immigration law has worked undue hardship upon many thousands of American citizens and declarants for citizenship by causing the separation of families, and

“Whereas, the President of the United States in his message to Congress on December 8, 1925, recommended that if the present immigration law deprives inhabitants of the United States ‘of the comfort and society of those bound to them by close family ties, such modification should be adopted as will afford relief,’ now therefore, be it

“Resolved: That this mass meeting, held on January 10, 1926, at Carnegie Hall, New York City, speaking for many thousands of native and naturalized American citizens, respectfully urges that the Congress of the United States amend the present immigration law to provide for the exemption from quota restrictions of the husbands, wives and children of citizens and declarants for citizenship, thereby hastening the reunion of now separated families and preventing the further future disruption of homes and separating of families by enacting into law bills now proposed and pending in the Congress of the United States, intended to that end.”

Preceding the mass meeting the Jewish Council held an all-day convention at the Central Jewish Institute which was attended by about 500 delegates, representing 200 Jewish organizations from all parts of New York.

The convention adopted a resolution calling upon all organizations of New York to unite within the Jewish Council.

Addresses were made by Bernard G. Richards, Nathan D. Perlman, Judge Gustave Hartman, Leon Savage, H. G. Robins and Dr. M. Eisenberg.

The following officers were elected for the coming year: Dr. M. Soltes, President; Judge Hartman, Louis Diamont, Max Blumberg. Eli Rosenberg, Adolph Stern, Senator Benjamin Antin and S. Rosenfeld, Vice-Presidents; Jacob Rosenberg, Treasurer and Samuel Kaplan, Secretary.