SOME PRESENT ASPECTS 



OF IMMIGRATION 



Fourth Report of the Committee on Immigration of the American 

 Genetic Association/ 



THE last Report of the Committee 

 on Immigration was made about 

 one year before this country en- 

 tered the war.- In that report 

 this committee stated its reasons for 

 believing (1) that the war would be 

 followed by a very large increase in the 

 numbers of immigrants, and (2) that 

 the general efifect of the war as a whole 

 would probably be to cause a deteriora- 

 tion in the mental, physical and moral 

 characteristic of our future immigants 

 and of their descendants. A summary 

 of the immigration bill then pending in 

 Congress was given, and the committee 

 expressed itself as heartily in favor of 

 all the provisions looking towards the 

 more effective detection, exclusion and 

 deportation of mentally and physically 

 unfit aliens. This bill, after having 

 passed both houses of Congress, was 

 vetoed twice by President Wilson, but 

 was passed over the veto by both Sen- 

 ate and House and became law on Feb- 

 ruary 5, 1917, about one month before 

 this country declared war. The new 

 statute became effective on May 1, 1917. 

 It is by far the most comprehensive 

 immigration legislation ever enacted in 

 this country and, if properly enforced, 

 can become of immense benefit to our 

 future race. 



The effect of the war in diminishing 

 the volume of immigration to the United 

 States was, of course, expected, but has 

 nevertheless been striking. From an 

 annual immigration of nearly a million 



and a half during the fiscal years 1913 

 and 1914, and an annual net increase 

 in alien population (/. e., deducting the 

 numbers of those who returned to their 

 own countries) of 800,000. the number 

 of immigrant aliens fell to a little over 

 325,000 during the year ending June 

 30. 1915. In the fiscal vears 1916 and 

 1917, about 300,000 came, while in the 

 year ending June 30 last the number of 

 immigrant aliens was only 110,000. 

 From July to October, 1918, the num- 

 ber of immigrant aliens w^as 37.410, and 

 of non-immigrant aliens 25,729. While 

 the mere fact of greater or smaller 

 numbers does not, in and for itself, 

 concern this committee, there is a very 

 important aspect of a small immigra- 

 tion which is of the greatest interest to 

 eugenists. It has always been held by 

 those who are concerned regarding the 

 admission into the United States of 

 mentally and physically defective aliens 

 that, with a smaller number of alien 

 arrivals, the work of inspection could 

 be more effectively done, with the 

 inevitable and greatly-to-be-desired 

 result that fewer undesirables would 

 escape detection. Our experience dur- 

 ing the war has borne out this view. 

 The last Report of the Commissioner 

 General of Immigration (for the year 

 ending June 30. 1918) gives the fol- 

 lowing percentages of aliens who w-ere 

 refused admission for all causes : 1914, 

 2.3%; 1915, 5.3%; 1916, 4.9%; 1917. 

 4.2% ; 1918, 3.3%. The increase in the 



'Personnel of Committee: Alexander E. Cance, Amherst, Mass.; Irving Fisher, New 

 Haven, Conn. ; Prescott F. Hall, Boston, Mass., Chairman ; Dr. Thomas F. Salmon, New 

 York City ; Robert De C. Ward, Cambridge, Mass., Secretary. 



This report has not been submitted to Professor Cance and to Dr. (now Colonel) Salmon, 

 both of whom are overseas. 



' See Journal of Heredity, vol. vii. No. 6, June, 1916, pp. 243-248. 



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