“Just as we sought to eliminate discrimination in our land through the Civil Rights Act, today we seek by phasing out the national origins quota system to eliminate discrimination in immigration to this nation composed of the descendants of immigrants.”
~ Rep. Philip Burton, Congressional Record, August 25, 1965
~ Rep. Philip Burton, Congressional Record, August 25, 1965
The Need
America was forging a new identity by not only recognizing its discriminatory policies, but with an ardent willingness to rectify these policies and practices.
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-John F. Kennedy
Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House on Revision of the Immigration Laws. July 23, 1963
Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House on Revision of the Immigration Laws. July 23, 1963
Passing Through Congress
Getting congressional approval for the act proved difficult. Conservatives debated to preserve the 'old' racial makeup.
Addressing fears of increased immigration of people that were different from the population :
~Senator Robert Kennedy, Subcommittee on Immigration and Naturalization of the Committee on the Judiciary, 1965
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What it Did
- Abolished the nationals-origins quota system granting equal opportunity to immigrants of all nations.
"In 1965 amendments to the 1952 immigration law, Congress replaced the national origins system with a preference system designed to reunite immigrant families and attract skilled immigrants to the United States. ...The majority of applicants for immigration visas now came from Asia and Central and South America rather than Europe."
~ Marian L. Smith, Director and Historian, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Historical Branch |
- Prohibited Discrimination:
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