ADMISSION OF ALIENS IN EXCESS OF PERCENTAGE QUOTAS FOR JUNE.

COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C., Friday, June 10, 1921. The committee met at 11 o'clock a. m., Hon. Albert Johnson (chairman) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order. Commissioner General Husband is present, and will present a statement which was asked for by the committee.

STATEMENT OF MR. W. W. HUSBAND, COMMISSIONER GENERAL OF IMMIGRATION.

Mr. HUSBAND. I have the following statement concerning the arrival of immigrants and prospective arrivals: (The statement referred to is as follows:)

IMMIGRATION IN JUNE.

(Under the act of May 19, 1921, entitled "An act to limit the immigration of aliens into the United States.")

This act was approved by the President May 19, 1921, and its principal provisions became effective June 3, 1921. The quotas of the various nationalities were published as follows:

Northwestern European countries; Danzig, Finland, and Africa-May 28. Southern and eastern European countries; Australia and New ZealandJune 1.

Other countries, June 2.

It is impossible to state at this time the exact number of aliens arriving at United States ports since June 3, 1921, when the act of May 19, 1921, went into effect, or the number now on the sea destined to such ports. However, the following statements, which are based on data which for the most part was furnished to the Bureau of Immigration by Mr. Sidney E. Morse, secretary of the Atlantic passenger conference, included such information as was available up to the coming of June 9.

Partial statement of aliens arrived at United States ports, and aliens reported at sea destined to such ports, June 3 to June 9, 1921, inclusive, compared with the number of aliens of like nationalities who are admissible to the United States.

79

United Kingdom..

Other Europe (including Andorra, Gibraltar, Lichtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San
Marino, and Iceland).

Armenia.

Other Turkey (Europe and Asia)

16

Other Asia (including Persia and territory other than Siberia which is not included in the Asiatic barred zone.

Persons born in Siberia are included in the Russia

quota)

Africa.

New Zealand.

Australia.

21

Atlantic islands (other than Azores, Madeira, and islands adjacent to the American continents).

5

Pacific islands (other than New Zealand and islands adjacent to the American continents)..

2

1 Quota exceeded.

Although this table is by no means complete, it undoubtedly indicates quite clearly the trend of immigration for June under the new law. The latest date of sailing considered is that of the S. S. Mt. Carroll, which sailed from Hamburg June 9. Immigration in excess of the quota for June is indicated in the following cases:

It may be presumed that a limited portion of those shown to be excess of the quota are admissible under exceptions, but, on the other hand, it is practically certain that the excess number, particularly in the case of Poland, will be very considerably increased by additions from passengers now in United States ports or en route to them but whose nationality is not reported. are as follows:

In this case, it should be stated the numbers given include all passengers, cabin as well as steerage, and it may be presumed that they are Americans and alines of classes which are not subject to the per centum law. However, it is certain that the steamships Rotterdam, Finland, and those of the French line, are carrying large numbers of the immigrant class from central Europe, and it is altogether probable that the quota of some other nationalities will be exceeded.

It is difficult to estimate what the total excess will be, but presumably it will reach 6,000 to 8,000.

JUNE 10. 1921.

W. W. HUSBAND, Commissioner General.

Mr. WILSON. Mr. Commissioner, the public press carries a statement that the Secretary of Labor has authority, under the immigration law, to handle this excess and to temporarily admit all immigrants producing the excess. Now, I read from the New York World of Friday, June 10, the following statement:

"The Secretary of Labor, Mr. Henning said,”—Mr. Henning is the Assistant Secretary, is he not?

Mr. HUSBAND. Yes.

Mr. WILSON. "has power under the law to admit otherwise inadmissible' aliens under such conditions as he sees fit, but it has been used only in emergencies. Crowded conditions on ships on which the immigrants are being held in New York and Boston. Mr. Henning said, have created such an emergency."

Do you know, as a matter of fact, whether the Department of Labor has reached the conclusion that it may admit this excess of immigrants, amounting to between 6,000 and 8,000, under the provisions of the immigration law, as indicated by that statement?

Mr. HUSBAND. I think the Assistant Secretary, and perhaps the Secretary also, have reached the conclusion that they have the power to admit these aliens temporarily under the 9th provisio of section 3. Mr. WILSON. Of the immigration law?

Mr. HUSBAND. Of the immigration law, yes, sir.

Mr. WILSON. Do you know if they purpose to carry out that conclusion by admitting them?

Mr. HUSBAND. If that is the purpose?

Mr. WILSON. Yes.

Mr. HUSBAND. That has not been determined, as I understand it. I talked with Mr. Henning after I left the State Department and my attention was called to this newspaper statement-you mentioned it, Mr. Chairman-I talked to Mr. Henning about it. and he said that it was not his intention or purpose to admit all who were here or to admit all who were now on the way; that if it was shown that they the steamship companies, I presume he meant-did not know that the law had gone into effect, and had not had sufficient notice of the quotas available, that he would be inclined to admit the immigrants coming under those circumstances, but, on the contrary, if it was shown that they did have knowledge of the enactment of the law and, presumably, of the quotas allotted, he would not admit them.

Mr. WILSON. Well, has the department taken any steps to find out if these steamship companies did have knowledge of the ones sailing since the quotas were promulgated?

Mr. HUSBAND. Not to my knowledge, beyond the fact that they have asked me what I knew about it, which is not very definite, my knowledge on the subject.

Let me illustrate by taking the two countries most affected, Italy and Poland. The tentative statement of the probable quota under the law was published, I think, in March, on the 3 per cent basis. It has been repeated in debates in Congress, and appears in the Congressional Record, I think, in several places, and in the hearings of the Senate committee.

The CHAIRMAN. Earlier than March; in January, was it not? Mr. HUSBAND. Possibly so, but anyhow in March.

Mr. WILSON. What was that? I did not understand that.

The CHAIRMAN. That these quotas, under the 3 per cent plan for the fiscal year, were printed at various times in the record and elsewhere, from December until March.

Mr. HUSBAND. And since that time, in the public press. It was obvious that under the percentage law the quota of Italy would be changed only very slightly. It was obvious that it would be changed by a portion of the quota which in these published papers was assigned to Austria, for the reason that certain Austrian territory had been transferred to Italy as the result of the war. But they were officially notified of that by the department, or by the knowledge which was simply common knowledge, and I think they must have known that the law was going to be enacted at a very early date. I think the surprise was that it was not enacted at an earlier date than it was, and So, had they cared to do so, they had ample opportunity to make their plans to keep within the Italian quota, but they apparently elected not to do so. I have no doubt that some of these ships that came into the ports on the third of the month, started out with the intention of getting in on the second, if possible. Others have sailed since that time with an excess of the quota.

Now, the other example is Poland. The quota of Poland was in doubt until June 2, when it was finally published by the Secretary of Labor, at the direction of the three Secretaries who prepared it. I know that Poland expected a very much larger quota than they received. I saw one estimate from a Polish source of more than 58,000 who would be accredited to Poland. They have a few over 20,000, instead of the 58,000. If they went on the assumption. that they were to have an annual quota of 58,000 during the year, I see quite well that is what the June quota would have been, but they counted as a part of Polish territory certain provinces or governments of Russia which the State Department does not conconsider to be a part of Poland.

Mr. Box. And they did that counting, knowing your board was the one to do the computing?

Mr. HUSBAND. Yes; but I say that if in making plans ahead, two, three, or four weeks, as they were obliged to, they probably appealed, or might have appealed, to the best possible source of information, that source of information very probably would have suggested to them that the quota would have been 58,000 for the year, instead of 20,000.

Mr. KLECZKA. You just mean the reverse. If they had appealed to a verified source of information they would have discovered that the quota would have been 20,000 instead of 58,000.

Mr. HUSBAND. They could not have appealed to the best source, for the reason that the boundaries of Poland, within the meaning of the law, had not been fixed, and were not fixed. That was not available until June 2.

Mr. KLECZKA. The boundaries of Poland are not fixed yet.

Mr. HUSBAND. No.

Mr. KLECZKA. What you call east Galicia includes Ukrainia does it not?

Mr. HUSBAND. No, not within the meaning of the law.

Mr. KLECZKA. What do you include in east Galicia?

Mr. HUSBAND. That part of Galicia which lies east of a certain boundary.

Mr. KLECZKA. East of Lemberg?

Mr. HUSBAND. I do not know. I think Lemberg is in

Mr. KLECZKA. In Poland proper?

Mr. HUSBAND. In eastern Galicia, is it not, Mr. McBride?

Mr. MCBRIDE. Yes, it is at the edge of what we call eastern Galicia.

Mr. KLECZKA. Well, Lemberg belongs to Poland.

Mr. MCBRIDE. I am not a geographical expert, but I think eastern Galicia has been allotted to the Poles to administer by the League of Nations for 25 years.

Mr. KLECZKA. So that territory which is only under the control of Poland you did not count as a quota of Poland?

Mr. MCBRIDE. Well, of course, this Government has recognized no boundaries. Some of the other Governments have. Therefore, for Poland, we gave the total quota for Poland, and then went on in a footnote to say that the separate quota for eastern Galicia was about

Mr. HUSBAND (interposing). It was 20,000 for Poland proper, and 5,000 for eastern Galicia.

Mr. KLECZKA. There is no government in east Galicia now?
Mr. MCBRIDE. Yes, sir; that is administered-

Mr. KLECZKA (interposing). By the Interallied Council?

Mr. MCBRIDE. By the Polish civil administration.

The CHAIRMAN. Let us postpone that phase of it for a moment. Mr. RAKER. That is quite important.

The CHAIRMAN. A little later, though.

Mr. RAKER. Just this, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Husband, with east Galicia and Poland proper, it would only make 25,000 anyhow. Mr. HUSBAND. It would only make 25.000; 58,000 could only be arrived at by adding a considerable part of western Russia.

The CHAIRMAN. Now let me interrupt to say that I was just in touch with the Assistant Secretary of Labor, Mr. Henning, by telephone, and he states, in response to inquiry as to the correctness of this and other interviews, that the newspapers have given his statement a little different twist from what he actually said; that he said that he thought he might have authority to admit some of these. That clears that up. Further, Mr. Henning has agreed to come up as quickly as he can get away down there. He is tied up for half an hour.

Now, I want to ask Commissioner-General Husband if the resolution which is before the committee, No. 153, which reads, "That