The Synagogue Council of America today joined with major Protestant bodies in a plea for a basic revision of U. S. immigration and naturalization laws to provide for the pooling of unused quotas, the elimination of racial discrimination, and the safeguarding of traditional civil liberties.
In a joint statement, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U. S. A., the National Lutheran Council, and the Synagogue Council also commended the principles of President Truman’s program for dealing with immigrants, refugees and surplus populations but declared that “these objectives can be achieved permanently only by a liberalization of U. S. immigration law.” “Therefore,” the religious groups said, “we are opposed to special legislation as a means of achieving these objectives.”
Pointing out that the Congress of the United States is now considering a revision of our immigration and naturalization laws, the statement declared: “It is of the utmost importance that legislation be enacted that will conform with our democratic tradition and with our heritage as a defender of human rights.”
The statement proposed establishment of a representative national commission to study the problem of refugees and surplus populations and recommend measures for its solution, and added: “Serious consideration should be given to the pooling or adjusting of unused quotas in order to facilitate family reunion, provide skills needed in our country, and to offer asylum to persecuted victims of totalitarian regimes. Whatever new plans for the use of unused quotas for refugees may be established, admission and transportation should be the responsibility of government and not of the voluntary agencies.”
While opposing emergency legislation to deal with the vast problem of surplus populations, the religious bodies endorsed the necessity of “such legislation as may be required fully to complete the Displaced Persons Program to which our country is committed under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948 as amended.”
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.
