Resolution Adopted by the CCAR
IMMIGRATION
Digests of resolutions adopted by the
Central Conference of American Rabbis
between 1889 and 1974
1. We urge our nation to keep gates of republic open, under reasonable
restrictions,
to the oppressed of all mankind. We advocate deportation by proper judicial
procedure
of aliens who advocate or use violence in an attempt to overthrow the
government,
only after public trial and conviction by courts of law. (1920, p. 89)
2. We deplore action of the U.S. Government in virtually abandoning its policy
of
keeping America a haven of refuge for the persecuted and downtrodden of the
world.
The repeal of the present law as inadequate is urged. (1922, p. 69)
3. We urge that the laws be completely revised so that basis is placed not
upon the
artificial quota qualifications but solely about ability of individual and
family
to maintain themselves under government of the U.S. and the ability of the
U.S. to
offer them the opportunity for maintenance. (1934, p. 104)
4. We oppose the Far Eastern exclusion policy as being against the best
interests
of our country. We see it as an affront to our gallant ally China. We urge
that Far
Eastern immigration into the U.S. be regulated on the same basis as
immigration from
all other countries. (1943, p. 124)
5. We hail the repeal by Congress of the Chinese Exclusion Act and urge the
repeal
of other exclusion laws. We reject the theory implicit in these laws that any
race
should be judged potentially incapable of participation in American life.
(1944,
p. 89)
6. We commend the President and the Congress of the United States for their
action
in liberalizing our policy for the immigration of displaced persons. We
fervently
hope that the humanitarian ideals which made this act effective may be
extended so
that our general immigration practices may be reviewed with the intention of
making them more
consonant with our classical American tradition of providing a haven and
refuge for
all. (1950, p. 171)
7. This Conference notes with deep concern that the present Displaced Persons
Law
is about to expire and that many thousands of Displaced Persons for whom the
Law
made provision to enter this country have not been able to complete the
complicated
and lengthy screening process in the allotted time.
We are gratified that the House of Representatives has passed a Bill extending
the
time limitation of the present law to permit the full quota of Displaced
Persons
allotted by the original law to enter the country.
We strongly urge that the Senate take immediate steps to enact similar
legislation
so that the intent and provisions of the original Displaced Persons Act may be
fully
implemented. (1951, p. 106)
8. We condemn the McCarren-Walters Immigration Bill because it is based on
racial
discrimination and is patently unfair to aliens, who under the provisions of
this
bill, can be deported for ridiculously minor offenses despite many years of
loyal
residence in the United States. We urge the President to veto this bill. We
urge support of
the substitute legislation on immigration proposed by Senators Lehman, Morse,
et
al. (1952, p. 181)
9. The McCarren-Walters Immigration Act has been widely censured by secular
and official
agencies dealing with problems of immigration. During the last presidential
campaign
both major political parties pledged themselves to a complete revision of this
bill as passed by Congress over the veto of President Truman. In recent days,
some cognizance
of that campaign promise was taken by President Eisenhower who recommended
that the
"serious and inequitable restrictions" of the Act be mitigated and
requested the
admission of 240,000 newcomers beyond the quota limitations. We deplore the
President’s
failure in making this request to take note of the discriminatory national
origins
method of selecting immigrants for entrance into America, which is basic to
the McCarren-Walters Bill as well as others, of its totally un-American
features. We urge its
repeal. We further urge that Congress undertake the preparation of a new
immigration
law which will be in consonance with the cherished American tradition of
equality
and justice to all. (1953, pp. 124-25)
10. See Individual Rights, Sec. 1e) (1953).
11. We register our shock and dismay at the abrupt dismissal of Edward Corsi,
a dismissal
made even more flagrant by the completely unsupported suggestion that he was a
security
risk. We commend Mr. Corsi for his courageous condemnation of the manner in
which the Act was being administered. We agree completely with him that the
Refugee
Act stands in sore need of those who will put their hearts into it as well as
their
hands upon it. We look to his successor to put into effect these principles.
We urge
our government to exert a truly sincere and a more powerful effort to open our
doors to
these victims of tyranny and persecution and thus to fulfill our pledge to
those
who risked their lives for the promise of freedom which we hold out to them.
(1955,
p. 66)