Sen. Jacob K. Javits, New York Republican, joined by five other senators, introduced today legislation to bring about “a basic overhaul” in immigration policy and correct the inequities in the McCarran-Walter act.
Immediate support for the Javits bill came from Senators Kenneth B.Keating, New York Republican; Wayne Morse, Oregon Democrat; Leverett Saltonstall, Massachusetts Republican; Clifford P. Case, New Jersey Republican, and Hugh Scott, Pennsylvania Republican.
Sen. Javits said it was particularly timely to give attention to immigration legislation because of the emphasis on civil rights. He termed immigration reform “civil rights legislation for the world.” He told the Senate that “our national immigration policy has produced an incredible epic of broken lives, divided families, case after case of anguish, despair and frustration.
Main features of the Javits bill included: 1. Determination of annual quotas on basis of 1960 census instead of 1920 and redetermination of quotas after every 10 year census; 2. Pooling of unused quotas; 3. Establishment of a board of visa appeals in the State Department; 4. Establishment of statute of limitations on deportation; 5. Judicial review facilities on citizenship questions; and 6. Elimination of disadvantage of naturalized citizens, as compared with natural-born citizens, through loss of nationality because of residence abroad.
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