Selective Immigration Banning Quotas to Become Important Issue in Next Congress

Selective immigration, which would abolish the present quotas and allow only a selected number of immigrants to enter the United States, will become an important issue at the next session of Congress. This has become clear from the annual report of the Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor which will be presented at the fiftieth annual convention of the Federation which opens today in Boston.

The report which was made public here today comes out in favor of the bill which was presented during the last session of Congress which provides that no immigrant should be given a visa unless he can prove to the American con-that his entry into the United States would not be detrimental to employment conditions in this country. This clause however is not applicable in the case of immigrants who have a right to enter outside the quota.

The report of the A. F. of L. Executive Council states that during the next session of Congress a bill will be introduced providing for selective immigration and that the bill will contain a clause empowering the President to control the number of immigrants that are to be admitted annually.

The present contract labor law, which provides that alien skilled labor be admitted if labor of a like kind can not be found in this country, is criticized in the Executive Council’s report for its too broad interpretation. The Executive Council is also in favor of including professional musicians and artists under the terms of the alien contract labor law.