The admission to the United States of 400,000 displaced persons, at the rate of 100,000 annually, was proposed today by Earl G. Harrison, chairman of the Citizens Committee on Displaced persons, and U.S. reprosentative on the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees.
Charging that there has been a “campaign of misrepresentation and distortion concerning immigration into the United States,” “Mr. Harrison said that the Citizens Committee would spearhead a drive to get legislation passed by the present session of Congress to allow the 400,000 DP’s to enter outside of the regular quota system.
“Inspired falsifications from several aources seek to create the impression that a regular swarm of persons from Europe has been and is now coming into this country,”Mr. Harrison declared. “This campaign of falsification is designed to set up a smoke screen so that the true facts will be obsoured and the real situation distorted.”
(Speaking in the House of Representatives yesterday, Rep. A.L. Miller, Nebraska. Republican, charged that charterod planes made daily flights from Tel Aviv to Miami, and also from Cairo, carrying displaced persons into the United States. He said these flights were made with the “blessing of the State Department and the military authorities.” The State Department denied that any such flights were being made.)
Pointing out that during 1940-1946 more than 914,670 quota visas were not used because of war-time and post-war difficulties, Mr. Harrison said that the 400,000 DP’s would use some of these unused quotas. He stressed that they would be subject to all the regular immigration procedures, with the exception of quota regulations, and also that the law would lapse automatically at the and of four years.
“It is up to this country to take the leadership in the drive to provide homes for these people,” Mr. Harrison stated. “Otherwise when a United States delegate sits down at the international council table, his bargaining hand is weekened. But if this country does act, it will set an exemple which will compel similar action by other nations. “This country can easily absorb 100,000 displaced persons a year for four years.”
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