1968 - Celler & Hart - Leaders I Never Met and Changed My Life

 

Representative Emanuel Celler

Senator Phillip Hart

(50 Nifty Years in United States Series)

It really goes back to 1965 when The Hart–Celler Act was passed in Congress. Senator Phillip Hart introduced the administration-backed immigration bill which was reported to the Senate Judiciary Committee's Immigration and Naturalization Subcommittee. Representative Emanuel Celler.

Effectively it abolished the system of national-origin quotas that had given preference to Northern Europeans. While the unintended consequences of the act may be argued to this day – it allowed for our family to come to the US in 1968.

Jerry Kramer wrote for the Center for Immigration Studies and reported in 2015, "The 1965 legislation was named the Hart-Celler Act for its principal sponsors in the Senate and House of Representatives. It abolished the quota system, which critics condemned as a racist contradiction of fundamental American values. By liberalizing the rules for immigration, especially by prioritizing family reunification, it also stimulated rapid growth of immigration numbers. Once immigrants had naturalized, they were able to sponsor relatives in their native lands in an ever-lengthening migratory process called chain migration. That unintended consequence is Hart-Celler's enduring legacy."

Hart a Bronze Medal decorated soldier was wounded on D-Day and received a Purple Heart as well. Celler was involved in drafting and passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as well.

I never met them and to my knowledge have never met any of their family. But I am grateful for what they resolved to do to lessen racism in our world. They seem to encompass the idea that leaders gain authority by giving it away. (John Maxwell Law of Empowerment) How secure that they felt in their leadership and in this country that they invited so many to share in opportunity and in power.

Thanks gentlemen for this lesson and for my/our journey to these Untied States.