INDIVIDUAL VIEWS OF MR. FANNIN

Section 135 of this bill directs the Commissioner of Education, in approving title III grants, to give special consideration to the applications of local educational agencies which have schools that, in his opinion, are beset by such conditions as being "racially imbalanced." To bolster this provision the committee specifically added an annual $50 million authorization for each of fiscal years 1967 and 1968.

Thus, under this section the Commissioner of Education would award grants on the basis of what he thought was or was not a proper racial mix. This brings up the interesting question of just what is meant by a proper balance. Is it 50-50, 90-10, or 60-40? There is no definition of racial imbalance in the act and the committee members themselves were not clear as to what was intended. The committee report does not supply the answer and even the supporters of this proposal differ as to what ratio might be an appropriate one. Presumably, however, the whole problem will be resolved by the Commissioner of Education who will make the determination and who has $50 million a year for each of 2 years to spend on this program.

Moreover it is unclear how this program would operate, how the funds would be used or what measures are contemplated to offset any so-called racial imbalance. Would there, for example, be involved in addition to educational parks, busing, the altering of geographical boundaries and the erasing of traditional neighborhood lines?

The Civil Rights Acts have not, to date, undertaken to deal with racial imbalance but have been limited to desegregation. Are we to assume that a new policy is now being inaugurated one calling for racial balance in the schools? If so, it is submitted that such a change. should be preceded by thorough study and deliberations following full hearings. There is no constitutional provision nor any Federal statute requiring a balance between the races. Nor is there even a factual showing that racial balance is necessarily a healthy state of affairs. from the standpoint of either minority groups or education as a whole. There is only the fuzzy and rather vague notion on the part of some persons that a given ratio between the races is a desirable situation. I think that the American people disapprove of this type of misguided policy and in my opinion would resent the use of an education bill as a vehicle to advance this unproven concept.

PAUL FANNIN.

155

89TH CONGRESS 2d Session

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SENATE

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REPORT No. 1675

ADJUSTING THE STATUS OF CUBAN REFUGEES TO THAT OF LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

OCTOBER 4, 1966.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 3712]

The Committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred the bill (S. 3712) to amend section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

AMENDMENTS

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following:

That, notwithstanding the provisions of section 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the status of any alien (1) who is a native or citizen of Cuba or (2) who, subsequent to April 24, 1965, and prior to June 2, 1966, has been displaced from his usual place of abode in the Dominican Republic because of military operations in that Republic and who has been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States and has been physically present in the United States for at least two years, may be adjusted by the Attorney General, in his discretion and under such regulations as he may prescribe, to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien makes an application for such adjustment, and the alien is eligible to receive an immigrant visa and is admissible to the United States for permanent residence. Upon approval of such an application for adjustment of status, the Attorney General shall create a record of the alien's admission for permanent residence as of the date of his last arrival into the United States. The provisions of this Act shall be applicable to the spouse and child of any alien described in this subsection, regardless of their citizenship and place of birth, who are residing with such alien in the United States.

SEC. 2. In the case of any alien described in clause (1) of section 1 of this act who, prior to the effective date thereof, has been lawfully admitted into the United States for permanent residence, the Attorney General shall, upon application, record his admission for permanent residence as of the date the alien originally arrived in the United States as a nonimmigrant or as a parolee, or as of January 3, 1961, whichever date is later.

SEC. 3. Section 13 of the Act entitled, "An Act to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, and for other purposes", approved October 3, 1965 (Public Law 89-236), is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: "(c) Nothing contained in subsection (b) of this section shall be construed to affect the validity of any application for adjustment under section 245 filed with the Attorney General prior to December 1, 1965, which would have been valid on that date; but as to all such applications the statutes or parts of statutes repealed or amended by this Act are, unless otherwise specifically provided therein, continued in force and effect."

SEC. 4. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act, the definitions contained in section 101 (a) and (b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act shall apply in the administration of this Act. Nothing contained in this Act shall be held to repeal, amend, alter, modify, affect, or restrict the powers, duties, functions, or authority of the Attorney General in the administration and enforce ment of the Immigration and Nationality Act or any other law relating to immigration, nationality, or naturalization.

Amend the title to read:

A bill to adjust the status of Cuban refugees to that of lawful permanent residents of the United States, and for other purposes.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of the bill, as amended, is to provide a special procedure for the adjustment of the status of certain refugees in the United States from Cuba and the Dominican Republic to that of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence as of the date of their arrival in the United States; to authorize the creation of a record of lawful admission for permanent residence as of the date of their original admission in the case of such refugees who previously have been lawfully admitted; and to preserve the validity of applications for adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act filed prior to December 1, 1965, by certain persons born in the Western Hemisphere.

STATEMENT

ADJUSTING THE STATUS OF REFUGEES

Since the advent of the Castro regime in Cuba in January 1959. more than 240,000 refugees from that country have arrived in the United States. Initially, the aliens fleeing Cuba were able to obtain visas as immigrants or temporary nonimmigrants and proceed to the United States in the usual manner. Many thousands chose this route and entered either as immigrants for permanent residence or as nonimmigrants such as visitors, students, and businessmen. That avenue of escape was closed when diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States were severed on January 3, 1961, and our consulate was closed. Large numbers were still able to reach this country under a waiver of the visa requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act issued jointly by the Secretary of State and the Attorney General under the authority of section 212(d) (4) of that act, but such arrivals. who were permitted to remain were granted parole status only. Entry in this manner ceased in October 1962, upon the discontinuance of commercial air flights at the time of the missile crisis. Thereafter, small numbers of Cubans arrived on American Red Cross boats involved in the prisoner exchange and in small craft of many kind after surreptitiously crossing the straits to Florida and were granted temporary asylum. Since December 1, 1965, approximately 40,000

additional refugees have entered under the airlift initiated as a result of the announcement by the President on October 3, 1965, that the United States would accept all Cubans seeking asylum.

The flow of the Cuban refugees continues at the rate of approximately 4,000 per month. At least 75,000 of the refugees are permanent residents, having originally entered as immigrants or having subsequently departed the United States and obtained an immigrant visa. As of August 1, 1966, approximately 165,000 of the Cuban refugees had not obtained permanent resident status, and it is to the problem of those Cuban refugees in this latter group who desire to obtain permanent residence that the instant legislation is primarily addressed.

Under the provisions of existing law, as contained in section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, aliens from most nations who are in the United States in a temporary status may apply to have their status adjusted to that of permanent residence. Under that procedure an alien who has been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States may apply to the Attorney General for such an adjustment and the Attorney General, in his discretion, if he finds the alien to be otherwise eligible for admission may grant the adjustment and record the alien's admission for permanent residence as of the date of the adjustment. Section 245(c) specifically provides, however, that this form of administrative adjustment is not available to natives of Western Hemisphere countries or specified adjacent islands, including Cuba.

The Cuban refugees in the United States, whether in a parole or a nonimmigrant status, are precluded from obtaining an adjustment of their status to that of permanent residence under the above-described procedure. The only means available to them for adjusting their status is to proceed from the United States to a country that will receive them and obtain an immigrant visa from a U.S. consul. This not only imposes an economic hardship upon the Cuban refugees, which in many cases is prohibitive, but also imposes a tremendous workload upon the American consuls in all nearby countries. While many of the Cuban refugees have availed themselves of this method of adjusting their status to permanent residence, the committee feels that in view of the substantial numbers of refugees in the United States, it is desirable to provide a special procedure to permit their adjustment without departing from the United States and obtaining a visa.

As introduced, the bill, S. 3712, would have amended section 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit the Cuban refugees to apply for an adjustment of their status to permanent residence retroactive to the date of the alien's last entry. As amended by the committee, the bill sets up a special procedure outside the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act under which any alien who is a native or citizen of Cuba or who, subsequent to April 24, 1965, and prior to June 2, 1966, has been displaced from his usual place of abode in the Dominican Republic because of military operations in that Republic may apply for an adjustment of his status to that of a permanent resident. Such alien must have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States and must have been physically present in the United States for at least 2 years prior to the time of filing the application. The Attorney General is authorized, in his discretion, and under such regulations as he may prescribe, to adjust the status of the alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for