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GOVERNMEN!

StorageA11600 66268? 

HEARING

BEFORE

SUBCOMMITTEE NO, 1

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NINETIETH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

H.R. 15450

A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 101(a) (27) (D) OF THE

IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT TO EXEMPT

FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATION MEMBERS OF CERTAIN

RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS

MARCH 27, 1968

Serial No. 16

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary

itOSAS 

1PWIERS111

•

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE'

93-050 WASHINGTON: 1968
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

EMANUEL CELLER, New York, Chairman

MICHAEL A. FEIGHAN, Ohio WILLIAM M. McCULLOCH, Ohio

EDWIN E. WILLIS, Louisiana RICHARD H. POFF, Virginia

PETER W. RODINO, JR., New Jersey ARCH A. MOORE, JR., West Virginia

BYRON G. ROGERS, Colorado WILLIAM T. CAHILL, New Jersey

HAROLD D. DONOHUE, Massachusetts CLARK MAcGREGOR, Minnesota

JACK B. BROOKS, Texas CHARLES McC. MATHIAS, JR., Maryland

WILLIAM-M. TUCK, Virginia EDWARD HUTCHINSON, Michigan

ROBERT T. ASHMORE, South Carolina ROBERT McCLORY, Illinois

JOHN DOWDY, Texas HENRY P. SMITH III, New York

BASIL L. WHITENER, North Carolina WILLIAM V. ROTH, JR., Delaware

ROBERT W. KASTENMEIER, Wisconsin THOMAS J. MESKILL, Connecticut

JAMES C. CORMAN, California CHARLES W. SANDMAN, JR., New Jersey

WILLIAM L. ST. ONGE, Connecticut TOM RAILSBACK, Illinois

DON EDWARDS, California EDWARD G. BIESTER, JR., Pennsylvania

WILLIAM L. HUNGATE, Missouri CHARLES E. WIGGINS, California

IIERBERT TENZER, New York

JOHN CONYERS, JR., Michigan

ANDREW JACOBS, JR., Indiana

JOSHUA EILBERG, Pennsylvania

BESS E. DICK, Staff Director

WILLIAM R. FOLEY, General Counsel

GARNER J. CLINE, Counsel

HERBERT FUCHS, Counsel

WILLIAM P. SHATTUCK, Counsel

JEROME M. ZEIFMAN, Counsel

BENJAMIN L. ZELENKO, Counsel

CHARLES J. ZINN, Law Revision Counsel

DONALD G:- BENN, Associate Counsel

DONALD E. SANTARELLI, Associate Counsel

FRANKLIN G. POLK, Associate Counsel

SUBCOMMITTEE NO. 1

GENERAL JURISDICTION OVER JUDICIARY BILLS AS ASSIGNED.

SPECIAL JURISDICTION OVER IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY

MICHAEL A. FEIGHAN, Ohio, Chairman

PETER W. RODINO, JR., New Jersey

HAROLD D. DONOHUE, Massachusetts

JOHN DOWDY, Texas

ARCH A. MOORE, JR., West Virginia

WILLIAM T. CAHILL, New Jersey

CLARK MAcGREGOR, Minnesota

GARNER J. CLINE, Counsel

DONALD G. BEN, Associate Counsel

Iowa
CONTENTS

Testimony of—

Miss Barbara M. Watson, Acting Administrator, Bureau of Security

and Consular Affairs, Department of State, accompanied by Mr.

Frederick Smith, Jr., Assistant Legal Adviser 

Mr. James L. Hennessy, Executive Assistant to the Commissioner,

Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justice,

accompanied by Mr. Cornelius J. Leary, Supervisory Deportation

Officer 

Statement received from Hon. Edna F. Kelly, Representative in Congress

from the State of New York 

Letter received from Christian Science Committee on Publication 

Page

2

9

AMENDING SECTION 101(a)(27)(D) OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 1968

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE NO. 1 OF THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY,

Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 2237,

Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Michael A. Feighan presiding.

Present: Representatives Feighan, Rodin°, and Donohue.

Staff members present: Garner J. Cline, counsel, and Donald G.

Benn, associate counsel.

(The proposed legislation follows:)

[H.R. 15450, 90th Cong., second sess.]

A BILL To amend section 101 (a) (27) (D) of the Tmmigration and Nationality Act

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of

America in Congress assembled, That section 101(a) (27) (D) of the Immigration

and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101) is amended by inserting after the language

"vocation of minister of a religious denomination" the language "or serving as a

missionary, brother, nun, or sister of a religious denomination".

Mr. FEIGHAN. The subcommittee will come to order.

The purpose of the hearing today is to receive testimony on H.R.

15450, a bill to exempt from the numerical limitations on immigration

any immigrant who continuously, for at least 2 years immediately

preceding the time of his application for admission to the United

States has been, and who seeks to enter the United States solely

for the purpose of serving as a missionary, brother, nun, or sister of a

religious denomination, and whose services are needed by such religious denomination having a bona fide organization in the United

States, and the spouse or child of any such immigrant if accompanying

or following to join him.

Section 101(a) (27) (D) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

describes one of the classes of "special immigrant" as a person who is

carrying on the vocation of a minister of a religious denomination.

The legislation under consideration today would add to that class

of "special immigrant" by making the provisions applicable to a person who is serving as a missionary, brother, nun, or sister of a religious denomination.

The first witness today whom we are grateful to have with us is

Miss Barbara M. Watson, Acting Administrator, Bureau of Security

and Consular Affairs, who, I understand, will be accompanied by Mr.

Frederick Smith, Jr., Assistant Legal Adviser.

On behalf of the subcommittee, Miss Watson and Mr. Smith,

we are very happy to have you with us. We look forward to hearing

your testimony which in the past has been so helpful to us on the

committee.

You may proceed.

(1)
2

STATEMENT OF MISS BARBARA M. WATSON, ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU OF SECURITY AND CONSULAR AFFAIRS,

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, ACCOMPANIED BY FREDERICK

SMITH, JR., ASSISTANT LEGAL ADVISER

Miss WATSON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

I am pleased to appear before this subcommittee to testify on H.R.

15450, which would amend section 101(a) (27)(D) of the Immigration

and Nationality Act to extend to missionaries, brothers, nuns, and

sisters of a religious denomination the same nonquota or special

immigrant status now enjoyed by ministers of religion.

The 'special nonquota, classification for ministers of religion originated in section 4(d) of the Immigration Act of 1924, which provided

nonquota immigrant status for "an immigrant who continuously

for at least 2 years immediately preceding the time of his application

for admission to the United States has been, and who seeks to enter

the United States solely for the purpose of, carrying on the vocation

of minister of any religious denomination * * *

The 1924 Act also provided nonquota immigrant status for such

minister's wife and unmarried children under 18 years of age, if

accompanying or following to join him.

Section 101(a)(27)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of

1952 re-enacted the provision of the 1924 Act in substantially the same

form except that it added a requirement that the minister's "services

are needed by such religious denomination having a bona fide organization 1 in the United States."

The 1952 Act also brought such immigrants under the petition procedure by requiring, in section 204(a), a petition approved by the

Immigration and Naturalization Service for classification under

101 (a) (27) (F) .

The Act of October 3, 1965, re-enacted the provision as 101(a) (27) (D)

without change except for the elimination of the requirement of an

approved petition.

Since that time, the Department of State has had the responsibility

for making determinations as to whether an individual applicant

qualifies for nonquota or special immigrant status under this section.

Under the 1965 Act and its predecessors, "missionaries, brothers,

nuns, and sisters" have not qualified for special immigrant status

because they are not considered "ministers of their religious denominations.

H.R. 15450 would extend the benefits of such classification to these

full-time religious workers. Their qualifications for such status would,

as in the case of ministers under the existing law, depend primarily

on whether they could meet the three principal criteria for such

classification: (1) that the organization to which they are destined

1 In the Matter of N --, in Visa Petition Proceedings, Decided by Central Office, Immigration and

Naturalization Service, Mar. 16, 1953.

Nonquota immigrant—Minister of religious denomination—Salvation Army, Section 101(a) (27)(F)

Immigration and Nationality Act.

The evidence of record fully establishes that the Salvation Army has been incorporated under the laws

of many of the States in this country; is a worldwide religious organization having a distinct legal existence;

a recognized creed and form of worship; a definite and distinct ecclesiastical government; a formal code of

doctrine and discipline; a distinct religious history; a membership, not associated with any other church or

denomination; officers ministering to their congregation, ordained by a system of selection after completing

prescribed courses of training; a literature of its own; established places of religious worship; religious congregations and religious services; a Sunday school for the religious instruction of the young; schools for the

preparation of its ministers, who in addition to conducting religious services, perform marriage ceremonies,

bury the dead, christen children, and advise and instruct the members of their congregations.
3

is a bona fide religious denomination; (2) that there is a need for their

services; and (3) that they are indeed coming "solely" to pursue their

religious vocation without engaging in outside employment.

In this connection, the subcommittee may wish to consider reinstating the petition requirement in view of the determinations that

must be made in the United States, and the fact that the Immigration and Naturalization Service has more investigative facilities

available to it than the Department of State.

It seems to us fair and reasonable that special immigrant status

be extended to such full-time religious workers as missionaries,

brothers, nuns and sisters. As with ministers their work, and the

benefits that it can bring to this country would seem deserving of

special consideration in the form of the proposed legislation. Moreover,

after June 30 and the phasing out of the country quotas, many such

religious workers will experience great difficulty in coming to this

country.

Heretofore, such members of religious organizations coming from

undersubscribed countries in Western Europe have been able to enter

as nonpreference immigrants or, most recently, have been able to

qualify for third or sixth preference.

It is now apparent, in view of the oversubscription of both these

preferences, that many such persons will encounter difficulties in

obtaining immigrant visas.

In the case of those coming within sixth preference who are from

countries such as Italy, Portugal, and Greece, the wait may well be

indefinite inasmuch as the demand in the first five preferences will

exceed the foreign state limitation of 20,000.

If these religious workers are granted special immigrant status,

they would be exempt from labor certification under section 212(a)

(14) of the Act. It is pertinent to note, nevertheless, that the Secretary.

of Labor has exempted from the requirement of an individual certification persons with religious commitments entering the United States

to pursue their work in religious institutions, under criteria set forth

in schedule A, group III (29 C.F.R. sec. 60)1 which includes workers

beyond the scope of this bill.

1 TITLE 29—LAB R :

SUBTITLE A—OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF LABOR

PART 60—IMMIGRATION: AVAILABILITY OF, AND ADVERSE EFFECT UPON, AMERICAN WORKERS

60.2 Certification and noncertification schedules:

(a) DETERMINATION. To reduce the delay in processing an alien's request for visa, the determination

has been made by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to section 212(a) (14) that:

(1) For the categories of employment described in Schedule A and in the geographic areas therein

set forth, there are not sufficient workers who are able, willing, qualified and available for employment

in such categories, and the employment of aliens in such categories and in such areas will not adversely

affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed.

The schedules at the end of 29 CF R Part 60 are revised to read as follows:

"SCHEDULE A

"Group III: (a) Any person of any religious denomination whose regular profession or occupation

is to conduct religious services, which he is authorized by his denomination to perform, and who is

seeking admission to the United States in order to engage principally in such work.

"(b) Any person of any religious denomination having a religious commitment, such as a Monk,

Nun, Brother, Missionary and others, who is seeking admission to the United States to perform the

duties required of him by virtue of such commitment.

"(c) Any other person seeking admission to the United States to perform duties related to the nonprofit operation of a religious organization, (1) if the duties which he will perform involve special skills,

training and experience which the alien possesses and which are related to the religious objectives of the

organization and, (2) if he intends to be engaged principally (more than 50 percent of his working time)

in such duties. Examples of persons coming within this subgroup are cantors and translators of religious

tracts or texts who have the special capability of conveying through the translation the spiritual message to which such tracts or texts are directed and who will be engaged in such endeavors."

An operation may be considered nonprofit for purposes of Group III if the receipts from the operation will

be used exclusively in furtherance of the philanthropic or religious purposes of the organization.
4

For these reasons, we support the enactment of H.R. 15450.

Questions will, of course, arise as to the scope of the terms which would

be added to section 101(a) (27) (D) by this bill. However, we do not

contemplate substantial difficulties in resolving them. We anticipate

that the principal questions that would arise under the proposed

amendment would be the same as those which have arisen under the

present law with respect to ministers•

'

that is whether the applicant

meets the three principal criteria as to whether the organization is a

bona fide religious denomination, whether there is a need for the

applicant's services, and whether the applicant is coming solely to

engage in the religious work of the denomination.

We would be glad to try to answer any questions which the subcommittee may have on the operation of this provision of the law as it

would be amended by H.R. 15450.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Thank you very much, Miss Watson, for your very

splendid and explicit statement.

I would like to ask you to define the terms "missionaries, brothers,

nuns, or sisters of a religious denomination," and discuss the extent

of application of this terminology with respect to various religious

denominations.

Miss WATSON. Sir, missionaries are usually described as members of

a religious denomination who propagate a religious faith. Usually

brothers, nuns or sisters would be under certain vows to continue the

propagation of the faith.

With respect to many religious organizations, we would not be

in the position at this point to determine the applicability of this

terminology until we know the organization of the religion under

question and the structure; whether for example, they have brothers,

nuns, or sisters.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Miss Watson, what experience has the Department

had in issuing visas to missionaries, brothers, nuns, or sisters, and

what regulations or operating instructions do you propose to issue

to define these categories?

Miss WATSON. Sir, with respect to the first part of your question,

we haven't had a great deal of experience with respect to nuns,

missionaries, brothers or sisters—not in the context of 101(a)(27)

(D).

This is principally because they have been otherwise eligible,

either under the nonpreference category or under one of the preference

categories—the third or the sixth, or even perhaps the fifth.

There have been a number who have come in. They have been

exempt from labor certification under schedule A. Should this bill

be enacted as it is presently proposed, then we would certainly define

more explicitly the terms missionary, nun, brother, and sister. Of

course, we would correlate them with the other provisions of the

bill which would require that they are coming here solely to perform

these religious services, that they are coming to a bona fide religious

organization, and that they have indeed performed this kind of

work for 2 years prior to the application for the visa.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Miss Watson, how would the proposed amendment

affect nursing homes and retirement homes operated by various

denominations?

Miss WATSON. We would not really think that it would particularly

affect them. Again, under the terms of the bill, these people would
5

have to have been involved in the religious organization's duties for

the 2 years prior thereto, they would certainly have to come to a

specific retirement home which is connected with the denomination,

which is involved in nonprofit work.

I don't anticipate that there would be any great effect on such

homes.

Mr. FEIGHAN. How many persons do you feel would be affected

by this proposed amendment, and what countries do you think would

be affected?

Miss WATSON. Sir, we don't have a great deal of experience as to

be able to judge how many people. I should imagine a great many

more people would certainly be affected than now come under the

present 101(a) (27) (D). Largely, it would certainly affect, for example,

those who are coming from the northern areas of Western Europe,

such as Ireland, England, Scandinavia, and Germany.

This would certainly open up many more visas.

From now on they will be required to wait for a number under the

third or sixth preference. It would certainly affect those who are coming from Italy and other oversubscribed areas where they will have

to wait a very long time, as I mentioned in my statement.

We have some figures from the Immigration and Naturalization

Service. The religious workers admitted in 1967 came up to 1,013.

This was across the board. They were persons who were exempted from

the individual labor certifications under the Department of Labor

Schedule A.

If they are included in this bill, I anticipate that there would

certainly be an increase.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Miss Watson, would you anticipate any difficulty in

the administration of this proposed amendment to the Act? In other

words, are there any possible loopholes which probably might go

beyond the intent of this proposed bill?

Miss WATSON. No, sir. I don't anticipate any particular difficulty

in administration. The bill is rather specific in that the three criteria

are spelled out.

It would, of course, as I mentioned in my statement, be helpful if

the petition procedure were reintroduced largely because so many

determinations have to be made here in the United States such as,

"Is this person coming to a bona fide organization here in the States?

Are his services needed?"

Our consular officers in the field are perfectly capable of determining whether he has pursued this vocation for 2 years prior to the application for the visa.

However, it would sort of extend the procedure if each time he had

to go back to the Department to have an investigation as to whether

or not this person's services are needed, if this particular organization

is a bona fide organization, and would he be coming here solely to

perform those services.

The petition procedure would be desirable since the Immigration

and Naturalization Service does have the investigative services plus

the fact that they have had much more experience with respect to

dealing with the categories of missionaries, nuns, and brothers and

sisters.

Mr. FEIGHAN. I think your point is well taken, Miss Watson.
6

Are these terms used in other sections of the law and, if so, have

there been any difficulties in administering such section?

Miss WATSON. Sir, I am aware of the fact that these terms are used

in section 317 of the Act. This section has to do with the naturalization. It has to do specifically with the question of temporary absence

from the United States during the time that a person is performing

religious duties and that this was not to be charged against the resident alien who is planning to become a citizen.

Again, you see, this does come within the purview of the duties of

the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Mr. FEIGHAN. It may be for lack of another word when I say

"fringe" categories such as cantors, readers, Byzantine artists, might

possibly qualify under a broad interpretation of this language.

Would you care to comment?

Miss WATSON. This has given me a little trouble. As I mentioned,

cantors are under Schedule A (which does not require labor certification) as are others who are seeking admission to the United States

to perform duties related to the operation of a religious organization

if: (1) the duties which they will perform involve special skills, training, and experience and which are related to the religious objectives

of the organization; and (2) if he intends to be engaged principally—

in other words, more than 50 percent of his working time—in such

duties.

Examples of persons coming within this group are cantors, translators of religious texts who have special capabilities of conveyance,

through the translation, of the spiritual message to which facts or

texts are directed and who will be engaged in such endeavors.

If you construe the law, as you propose to amend it, strictly, it

would be rather difficult to include such persons.

It would seem to me, if I may make a proposal, to give a fairminded application, that you may care to insert an amendment which

would include religious teachers and functionaries of a religious

denomination. This, then, would bring in cantors or the Byzantine

artists.

You would again still have the control in that they would be subject

to the three criteria. They would have to be coming here solely to

perform this type of work, to have done this for 2 years prior to the

application of the visa and the bona fide organization to which he is

coming must have need for his services.

So this, then, would cover all possible religious denominations.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Mr. Rodino?

Mr. RODINO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

First of all, may I also express my personal gratitude for Miss

Watson's appearance before this committee in explaining this piece

of legislation, which I think is of considerable importance, and her

clarity in bringing to us the purpose and meaning of this legislation.

I would like to address to Miss Watson, however, this question:

Since this seems to be really an intent at an enlargement of the

word "ministers" to include missionaries, sisters, nuns, and others,

would it not have been possible by administrative interpretation

to have come to the same conclusion in view of the fact that in my

understanding of ministers of religion or the vocation of the ministers

of any religious denomination, we contemplate within that understanding missionaries, sisters, nuns, their religion, or those who are

also ministers of a religious denomination.
7

Why is there such a specific need for this legislation? Why could

it not have been done by an administrative interpretation?

Miss WATSON. Sir, the definition—we have had it in our regulations,

which I believe has been coordinated with the Immigration and

Naturalization Services—is that the minister is the leader or the propagator of a religious denomination; a missionary, a nun, or a brother

or sister, is not in the same category at all.

The minister is the person who is the leader of the religion and who

is propagating the faith, whereas, the nuns and sisters, although

under vows and dedicated to the propagation of the faith, do not

have the same category or the same level of importance of leadership.

Mr. RODINO. In other words, missionaries, brothers, nuns, and sisters of a religious denomination really do not have the same authorities

as are contemplated by ministers of a religion like what I read in a

discussion before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Something is

very pertinent and, of course, it is, which clearly establishes in my

mind why the difference exists.

A minister would also include one who is able to conduct religious

services, perform marriage ceremonies bury the dead, christen

children, advise and instruct the members of their congregation.

So I can see the very basic differences and why it would be necessary. I think that makes it very clear for me.

Miss Watson, has there been much pressure for this legislation?

Has there been a demonstrated need for this legislation?

Miss WATSON. I can only say, sir, that I think that in light of the

proposed date of the full implementation of the Immigration Act of

1965 on July 1, there is a good deal of concern that religious workers

from various parts of the world who are not under the present law

covering ministers would not be in a position to come to the United

States as freely as they have in the past because there would be no

numbers available and there is concern that the religious denominations here in the States would be deprived of the services of such

persons who could come over to help.

As you know, there are oversubscribed areas in southern Europe,

and in the Far East, and the undersubscribed areas which had the

recourse to nonpreference numbers will no longer have this.

There is the concern that these people will have to wait many years,

because now they will have to come under some preference category.

As we know, the third and the sixth preferences will be very much

oversubscribed.

I think most of these people would be coming under the sixth preference. That is under very heavy demand at the moment.

So, as of July 1, there will be so much competition for the numbers

that I am afraid that the nuns, missionaries, and brothers and sisters

will come at the very end of the line.

Mr. RODINO. Thank you very much, Miss Watson.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Miss Watson, how would teachers be covered under

your suggested amendment to this bill to expand the definition to include religious teachers and functionaries of a religious denomination?

Miss WATSON. Under my proposal?

Mr. FEIGHAN. Would this result in no labor certification requirement for teachers in parochial schools while requiring certification for

public and nondenominational schools?
8

In other words, if a person would be coming here to teach a nonreligious subject, would there be a differentiation between one coming

to a parochial school and one coming to a public school?

As far as I am concerned, it seems to me to be a very clear line of

demarcation, because one would be strictly a member of a religious

body.

I am wondering for the purposes of the record.

Miss WATSON. For the purposes of the record, I should feel that

those who are coming to teach in a parochial school—it might be a

Hebrew teacher for a Hebrew school—would probably come under

this proposed amendment.

They are coming for the needs of this religious denomination. They

are solely going to perform in these areas, and they would have to

have the skills that would be required for that particular teaching.

I think if they were just coming to go to, say, a nondenominational

school, then they would have to qualify under the third preference.

But you do have people with special skills.

They are coming to work, as you say, for bona fide religious organizations, denominations and for the purpose of the propagation of that

faith.

If it is solely for the carrying on of the work of religious denominations, this, therefore, would now keep it within the confines of the

religious application.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Miss Watson, do I understand your interpretation

that if a person would come to a religious school to teach a nonreligious subject, that person would not be required to have a certification?

Whereas, a person coming to teach a nonreligious subject in a

nonparochial school would have to have it?

Miss WATSON. Yes, sir. For example, you have many parochial

schools in which their curriculum is divided. There is the religious

instruction and the catechisms and so forth.

But then they also have the regular courses of matematics—the

three R's, so to speak. But it is all within the context of propagating the faith of that particular denomination.

Mr. FEIGHAN. I suppose to qualify for the exemption from the labor

certification, a person would have to be a member of the particular

denomination.

Miss WATSON. There is no question about it, and would have had

to have been, under the law, an active member of this denomination

for the 2 years prior to the application.

His duties would have to be solely denominational and the needs

for his services would have to be established by the bona fide organization.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Mr. Donohue?

Mr. DONOHUE. I have no questions.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Thank you very much, Miss Watson. We are very

appreciative and happy to hear from you. You have been extremely

helpful to us.

Miss WATSON. Thank you very much.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Our next witness is an old friend or a young but old

friend of ours. He is Mr. James L. Hennessy, Executive Assistant to

the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization Service of the

Department of Justice.
9

I might add that you are accompanied by another very dear and

close, esteemed friend of the subcommittee, Mr. Neil Leary.

STATEMENT OF JAMES L. HENNESSY, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO

THE COMMISSIONER, IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION

SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, ACCOMPANIED BY CORNELIUS J. LEARY, SUPERVISORY DEPORTATION OFFICER

Mr. LEARY. Thank you.

Mr. HENNESSY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

In the original presentation of the Department of Justice, we

deferred this particular case to the Department of State.

I would suggest having heard Miss Watson's presentation and her

responses to your questions, our deference was well warranted.

I would have no additional statement to make other than to make

myself available to whatever questions you would wish to ask that

would be within the purview of the Immigration Service.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Mr. Hennessy, do you feel that a petition procedure

is necessary?

Mr. HENNESSY. I am not aware of the reasons why the petition

procedure was dropped out in 1965. I venture to suggest that possibly

the investigation in the United States in most of these cases was

minimal.

The bona fide organization was usually sustained. Whether the

person was coming solely to engage in what purpose would be determined by an interview of him rather than anything available in

this country:Whether he had been engaged for 2 years prior to the

application in carrying on ministerial duties would be information

available solely from him and from abroad.

That was possibly the reason it was dropped. We could, of course,

assume it again. I would have no reason either to advocate its resumption in the law or to have any opposition should it be sought to be

reinserted.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Mr. Rodino?

Mr. RODINO. I don't have any questions.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Mr. Donohue?

Mr. DONOHUE. Do I understand that prior to the enactment of the

1965 law, there was a provision that would take care of those people

that would be cared for by this proposed legislation?

Mr. HENNESSY. No, Mr. Congressman. The provision in the law

prior to 1965 related solely to the visa petition that was required

before the minister of religion would come in. But even prior to the

1965 law, brothers, nuns, sisters and missionaries, missionaries per se,

were not embraced within the term "ministers of religion."

This has been interpreted in volume 5 of our administrative decision

by the Board of Immigration Appeals. I think it is the decision Mr.

Rodino referred to in his question. This would be a new concept as

far as exempting these people from the numerical limitations.

Mr. DONOHUE. You mentioned something in your previous comments that the individual applying would have to show that they had

been in the particular religious order for at least 2 years. That applied

to the ministers?

Mr. HENNESSY. Yes, that applied to the ministers.
10

Mr. DONOHUE. Don't you think that something like that should be

made part of either the regulations or part of the basic law?

Mr. HENNESSY. It will be applicable under this new law to this new

class.

Mr. DONOHUE. That is, anybody applying must show that they

have been in the particular religious order for at least 2 years before

applying?

Mr. H ENNESSY. They have been performing that function, yes, Mr.

Congressman, that is correct.

Mr. FEIGHAN. Mr. Hennessy, if a qualified person comes to perform nonreligious teaching in a religious school, would the law include

him in exemption from the labor certification?

Mr. HENNESSY. Most of the time most of these people came from

nonpreference. I think Miss Watson gave you a figure of 1,013 religious

workers who came under the prior law.

Now that number, 754, came under the nonpreference. They are

required as all nonpreference poeple are to obtain a labor certification.

But the labor certification in that particular class was done by a

regulation, en masse, exempting persons who are members of religious

organizations who are coming to the United States as a result of the

request of the superiors of that religious organization and consequently

were coming to a job that was noncompetitive in nature.

The Department of Labor was then not in a position to assess

whether or not there were persons available in the United States to

perform that task sine qua non of a person's entry was that he had

to be a member of the religious organization.

So I think a religious certification was required but the certification

was issued by regulation.

In Schedule A, it applied to any person who was coming here as a

member of a religious organization, following out the orders or

directives of the head of that religious organization regardless of the

immediate purpose in the United States, whether it was to be equivalent of domestic services, whether it was to teach religious subjects

or whether it was to teach nonreligious subjects.

I think essentially the discipline of the religious organization was

the controlling factor.

Mr. DoNoxuE. Or whether they were to perform domestic work?

Mr. HENNESSY. That is correct.

Mr. DONOHUE. Thereby eliminating the necessity of obtaining a

labor certificate?

Mr. HENNESSY. Of obtaining an individual labor certification, yes,

Mr. Congressman.

Mr. FEIGHA N. Thank you very much, Mr. Hennessy, and Mr.

Leary. We are very pleased that we had this opportunity to have

you with us.

Mr. HENNESSY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. LEARY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

(Whereupon, at 10:48 a.m., the subcommittee adjourned, to

reconvene at the call of the Chair.)

(The statement of Hon. Edna F. Kelly follows:)
11

STATEMENT BY HON. EDNA F. KELLY, NEW YORK, BEFORE SUBCOMMITTEE No. I

OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

Mr. Chairman, I welcome and am most grateful for this opportunity you have

accorded me to submit a statement to you and the members of your Subcommittee

on Immigration and Nationality, in which I urge immediate action on my bill,

H.R. 15274, "to amend section 101(a) (27) (D) of the Immigration and Nationality

Act (8 U.S.C. 1101) by inserting after the language, 'vocation of minister of a

religious denomination the language 'or serving as a missionary, brother, nun, or

sister of a religious denomination."

I am most pleased that you, Mr. Chairman, have introduced a bill which is

similar to mine, H.R. 15450 and that this bill is being considered by the Subcommittee today. Therefore, it is my earnest and sincere desire that this Committee expedite action on this legislation by favorably reporting any bill which

will accomplish the same purpose.

This legislation, if enacted, will place any person of any religious denomination

having a religious commitment such as missionaries, brothers, nuns, or sisters in

the "special immigrant category," and they will then enjoy the same immigrant

status as ministers of religious denominations who are now admitted to the

United States outside of any numerical limitation.

At the present time, all nuns are now eligible for the third or sixth preference

and labor certification is automatically granted, since the Secretary of Labor has

determined that categories described in schedule A are in short supply in the

United States. However, after July 1, 1968, in compliance with the Immigration

and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965, all immigrants will compete on a worldwide basis for visa issuance and visa applications will be processed on a first-come,

first-served international basis on a preference category.

This portion of the immigration laws which will be fully effective on July 1

of this year will adversely affect Irish nuns. Nuns, brothers, sisters, and missionaries

will be required to compete with other countries which have built up long waiting

lists; whereas ministers will continue to easily and expediently enter the country

as special immigrants.

However, Mr. Chairman, by enacting this legislation before you today, which

would provide that the same conditions and privileges be made applicable to a

person serving as a missionary, brother, nun, or sister of a religious denomination

by classifying such persons as special immigrants, they will be excluded from the

computation of the numerical annual limitation. This result will overcome the

lack of nonpreference visa numbers after July 1, 1968, when the system described

in thc 1965 Amendments becomes effective.

Mr. Chairman, I firmly believe that all persons of a religious order enter the

United States with a firm conviction to God and themselves to help other people.

Nuns, brothers, sisters, and missionaries who are teachers, doctors, nurses, and

who do charitable work will certainly be of great assistance to every person with

whom they come in touch. Because of their selfless religious missions, I respectfully ask that the Committee consider the necessity and the urgency of their

entrance into the United States as "special immigrants," by reporting my bill,

H.R. 15274, or similar legislation.

Thank you.

(The following letter was submitted for the record:)

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION

OF THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

IN BOSTON, MASS.,

Washington, D.C., April 4, 1968.

Re H.R. 15450 Immigration.

Hon. EMANUEL CELLER,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,

U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CELLER: The Subcommittee on Immigration of the House Judiciary

Committee, under the chairmanship of Congressman Feighan, has recently held

a hearing on H.R. 15450 to assist certain religious workers in entering the United

States. This bill would provide much-needed assistance to churches, which by

their nature are international organizations, where their work in this country needs

the services of a foreign "missionary, nun, brother or sister." We wish to register
12

our support of the broad principles of H. R. 15450, but we believe the bill as

drafted may be too restrictive.

In limiting the special immigrant status to missionaries, nuns, brothers and

sisters the bill may unintentionally benefit certain denominations more than

others. Accordingly, we are suggesting an amendment which would seem to accomplish the intent of the bill for all religions equally. We suggest the addition of

the words "or religious worker or functionary" after 'sister" in line 7.

The Christian Science Church has its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts,

with branches in fifty-four countries throughout the world. The Church's activities require from time to time bona fide, full-time religious workers from these

countries, such as lecturers, translators, nurses whose service is so basically religious in nature that they cannot be provided from the domestic labor market.

The immigrants who would seek entry into the United States to perform these

services would not be members of any religious order, but their function would

nevertheless be exclusively religious.

Again let us state our support of H. R. 15450 and our hope that the amendment

suggested above will be acceptable. We would be very glad to confer with Committee Counsel at any time on this matter, and would be pleased to testify if

public hearings are scheduled.

Sincerely,

J. BUROUGHS STOKES,

Manager, Washington, D.C. Office.