Senate Unit Begins “complete” Inouiry of Refugee Act Opera Tions

The Senate sub-Committee on Immigration voted unanimously today to make “a complete and thorough investigation of the administration of the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 following the dismissal of Edward J. Corsi as special adviser to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles on Migration matters and as expediter of the refugee aid program.

Senator William Langer, chairman of the sub-committee announced that it had decided to call any witnesses its members wanted to question, including Mr. Dulles, Mr. Corsi and Scott McLeod, State Department security chief and administrator of the refugee program, the sub-committee called Mr. Meleod to testify immediately and he was questioned in executive session behind closed doors.

Senator Arthur Watkins sought to confine the hearings to refugee act technicalities but Sen. Thomas C. Hennings said the Corsi case would be raised wherever relevant in the course of the hearings. Sen. Langer Said the Corsi dismissal would be discussed if any Senator wanted to go into it.

Sen. Langer pointed to Mr. Corsi’s charge that only 1.000 refugees had reached these shores under the refugee aid program and said that this fact was “in direct variance with weekly reports furnished the sub-committee by the State Department.” He said his sub-committee will seek to establish whether the refugee act “has worked as well as alleged by Secretary Dulles or whether it is a failure as stated by Mr. Corsi.”

SECOND INQUIRY SEEN; CONGRESSMEN HIT CORSI OUSTER

While the sub-committee studies the handling of the refugee aid program, it appeared that the Senate Civil Service Committee would look into the ouster of Mr. Corsi in connection with the security charges levelled against the New York immigration expert. Sen Harley Kilgore, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed himself in favor of liberalization of the Refugee Relief Act and indicated his committee might study this question.

Rep. Emanuel Celler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, endorsed demands for a Congressional investigation of the “whole mess” surrounding the Corsi ouster and denounced Mr. McLeod as a “glorified cop” Rep. Kenneth Keating, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said that body should find out “what is behind the Corsi ouster,” He called the Corsi dismissal ” a very serious matter.”

There was no indication, however, that the Corsi case had as yet given rise to a consistent demand for reappraisal of the immigration laws, although the administration is committed to revision of the McCarran-Walter Immigration and Naturalization Act, it has not lined up be hind a bill introduced by liberal Republicans or a measure introduced by Sen. Herbert H. Lehman aimed at eliminating inequities and injustices in existing immigration legislation.