Failure to Pass Stratton Bill Will Bar Latin-america to Dp’s, Hias Aides Report

Failure by Congress to pass the Stration Bill, which would authorize the admission of 400,000 DP’s into the United States, will almost certainly result in Latin-American countries refusing to liberalize their immigration laws, Dr. Henry Shoskes and Albert Harris, who have just completed a four month tour of 20 Latin-American countries for HIAS, said here today.

The HIAS representatives told a press conference that under the best of circumstances, it is unlikely that more than 3,000 Jews will be allowed to enter Latin American countries next year and all of these will either be close relatives of resident citizens or skilled industrial workers.

Declaring that the purpose of their trip was to intercede with the Latin American governments to permit the immigration of more Jews from the DP camps, particularly close relatives and industrial workers, the delegates said that the various government officials with whom they conferred said that they were looking to the United States to set an example. HIAS offices, as well as the local Jewish communities, the delegates added, are well-equipped to assist any large number of immigrants who may reach Latin American countries.

Abe Grossman, HIAS director in Germany and Austria, disclosed that although several Latin-American countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, have missions in Europe to recruit potential immigrants from among the displaced persons, virtually no Jews have been selected, despite the fact that many Jews fall into the skilled technician and industrial worker categories, which are the most sought after.

Grossman disclosed that in the first six months of this year, the HIAS assisted more than 3,000 Jews to emigrate from Europe to the United States, Palestine and other countries, with slightly more than half of that number coming to this country under the Truman directive of 1945. He pointed out that under this directive only DP’s who have resided continously in the American zone before Dec. 22, 1945, may enter the United States, and Jews living in other zones, outside of a very few exceptions, are automatically barred from immigrating to this country.

Some 3,000 Jews holding Australian “landing permits” will probably never be able to use them because of three restrictions which must be complied with , Mr. Grossman asserted. These are: 1. The would-be immigrants may not sail in British ressels; 2. They may not sail from British or Dominion ports, and 3. The complement of any vessel carrying these passengers may not exceed 25 percent Jews. These permits will expire in November of this year.