Hope that “in the not too distant future, the American people will insist on revision of our present immigration system” was expressed today by Irving M. Engel, president of the American Jewish Committee, in a statement commenting on the passage by the House last Friday of the McCarran Sheepherders Bill. The bill is now awaiting the President’s signature.
“Although Senator McCarran succeeded for the third time in slipping through a bill to admit more Basque sheepherders above the normal Spanish quota, the opposition to this attempt to take care only of the Senator’s Nevada constituents was encouraging,” Mr. Engel said. “It served to focus attention on these facts:
“1. For the first time, an effort by Senator McCarran to obtain preferential treatment for Basque sheepherders attracted strong opposition; 2. One of the immediate effects of our present immigration policy–of which Senator McCarran was principal author–was to strangle the sheep-raising industry of his own state; 3. There are shortages of skilled workers not only in the sheep-raising industry, but in all industries, including the needle trades, agriculture, diamond cutting and watch making, and the McCarran-Walter Act is barring workers from abroad who could alleviate these shortages.”
“The episode has been of great educational value, and arouses hope that in the not too distant future the American people will insist on revision of our present immigration system,” Mr. Engel concluded.
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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.
