Press Release, Statement by the President on Immigration to the United States of Certain Displaced Persons and Refugees in Europe

HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE DECEMBER 22, 1945 CONFIDENTIAL: The following statement by the President is for release in all newspapers appearing on the street not earlier than 6:00 P.M., Eastern Standard Time, today, Saturday, DECEMBER 22, 1945. NOTE: The same release applies to radio commentators and news broadcasters. Please use caution to avoid premature publication. CHARLES G. ROSS Secretary to the President STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT ON IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES OF CERTAIN DISPLACED PERSONS AND REFUGEES IN EUROPE The war has brought in its wake an appalling dislocation of populations in Europe. Many humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, are doing their utmost to solve the multitude of problems arising in connection with this dislocation of hundreds of thousands of persons. Every effort is being made to return the displaced persons and refugees in the various countries of Europe to their former homes. The great difficulty is that SO many of these persons have no homes to which they may return. The immensity of the problem of displaced persons and refugees is almost beyond comprehension. A number of countries in Europe, including Switzerland, Sweden, France, and England, are working toward its solution. The United States shares the responsibility to relieve the suffering. To the extent that our present immigration laws permit, everything possible should be done at once to facilitate the entrance of some of these displaced persons and refugees into the United States. In this way we may do something to relieve human misery, and set an example to the other countries of the world which are able to receive some of these war sufferers. I feel that it is essential that we do this ourselves to show our good faith in requesting other nations to open their doors for this purpose. Most of these persons are natives of Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The immigration quotas for all these countries for one year total approximately 39,000, two-thirds of which are allotted to Germany. Under the law, in any single month the number of visas issued cannot exceed ten per cent of the annual quota. This means that from now on only about 3900 visas can be issued each month to persons who are natives of these countries. Very few persons from Europe have migrated to the United States during the war years. In the fiscal year 1942, only ten per cent of the immigration quotas was used; in 1943, five per cent; in 1944, six per cent; and in 1945, seven per cent. As of November 30, 1945, the end of the fifth month of the present fiscal year, only about ten per cent of the quotas for the European countries has been used. These unused quotas however do not accumulate through the years, and I do not intend to ask the Congress to change this rule. (OVER)