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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Immigration

Letter from Francis Keough and Bruce Mohler to the House Sub-Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, April 4, 1951

Title: Archbishop Francis Keough, ca. 1950

Courtesy of the Associated Archives of St. Mary's Seminary and University, Baltimore

Francis Keough, Archbishop of Baltimore and the chairman of the Administrative Board of the NCWC, along with Bruce Mohler, the long-time head of the NCWC's Bureau of Immigration, sent this analysis of the proposed immigration legislation to Pat McCarran (D-Nevada), the bill's sponsor. It contains a point-by-point response to elements of the proposed legislation. Mohler suggests, as he did about the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924, that the quotas should be increased, that more non-quota immigrant classes were necessary, and that the continuing burden of the literacy test should be dropped.

Letter from Francis Keough and Bruce Mohler to the House Sub-Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, April 4, 1951 (Analysis McCarran Walter Act)
 

Questions:

As you read the document, reflect on the following questions:

  • What is Mohler's biggest problem with the definition of the non-quota immigrant classes? Is his objection similar to or different from his concerns about the 1924 legislation?
  • Which census does Mohler think should be used for the calculation of quotas as a percentage of the U.S. population?
  • The bill limited immigrants' rights, allowing them to be questioned without warrants, denied legal counsel if arrested, and be deported for any reason regardless of the length of their residence in the U.S. What are some of Mohler's reasons for objecting to these limitations?