Only 2,500 DP immigrants arrived in the United States during the first six months following passage of the DP Act of 1948 instead of the 10,000 persons originally expected to enter during this half year, Ugo Carusi, chairman of the Displaced Persons Commission, declared here this week-end.
He also warned that unless the present act is amended promptly and the commission is provided with a larger administrative staff only 40,000 persons will reach this country by next July 1, after the law has been in effect for one year, instead of the 75,000 men, women and children originally expected.
Following his return here from Europe where he supervised the establishment of administrative machinery to keep the emigrants flowing out of Germany, Carusi said that restrictions imposed by the last Congress were responsible for the poor operation of the entire system. He announced that he would recommend that the 81st Congress amend the act to eliminate or change the following major flaws:
1. The cut-off date of Dec. 22, 1945, by which time refugees must have been in a DP camp to be eligible for admission to the U.S. under the present law. 2. The preferential priority system for admitting persons with specific skills or of a particular national background; and, 3. The guarantees that both jobs and housing be provided for a prospective immigrant before he can be sent to the United States.
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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.
