S6352 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 6, 2011 Committee and Representative BOBBY and conduct of such organizations and local Congress allowed fear and ignorance to SCOTT of Virginia and Representative chapters;’’. drive our Nation’s immigration policy JIM SENSENBRENNER of Wisconsin for f and, for the first time, to exclude from joining together to originate this bill EXPRESSING SENATE REGRET our country a single group of people and move it through the House Judici- based solely on their race. ary Committee and the House. Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unan- That was wrong. Ours in a Nation of imous consent that the Judiciary Com- AMENDMENT NO. 736 immigrants and of equality and these mittee be discharged from further con- Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unan- laws offended both of those funda- sideration of and the Senate proceed to imous consent that a Coburn amend- mental precepts of America. S. Res. 201. While Congress was right to repeal ment, which is at the desk, be agreed The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without the Chinese Exclusions Laws in 1943, it to, the bill, as amended, be read the objection, it is so ordered. is important to note that Congress was third time and passed, the motions to The clerk will report the resolution motivated primarily by the fear that reconsider be laid upon the table, with by title. the Japanese would use the racist laws no intervening action or debate, and The assistant legislative clerk read as part of its propaganda campaign to that any statements related to the bill as follows: drive a wedge between the U.S. and its be printed in the RECORD. Chinese allies. The repeal of the Chi- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without A resolution (S. Res. 201) expressing the re- gret of the Senate for the passage of dis- nese Exclusions Laws was not accom- objection, it is so ordered. criminatory laws against the Chinese in panied by any genuine sense of regret The amendment (No. 736) was agreed America, including the Chinese Exclusion for the decades of discriminatory poli- to, as follows: Act. cies, or any proclamation by the Con- (Purpose: To authorize a 2 year extension of There being no objection, the Senate gress that it would guard in the future the Parole Commission) proceeded to consider the resolution. against the type of racism and xeno- On page 2, line 12, strike ‘‘ ‘27 years’ or ‘27- Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, begin- phobia that allowed such laws to pass year period’ ’’ and insert ‘‘ ‘26 years’ or ‘26- ning more than 140 years ago, Congress year period’ ’’. in the first place. Instead, the exclu- enacted a series of racist and discrimi- sion laws were simply supplanted by The amendment was ordered to be natory laws directed specifically at application of strict race-based quotas engrossed and the bill to be read a persons of Chinese descent. Collec- that remained in place for more than 20 third time. tively known as the Chinese Exclusion years. Let us not forget that at the The bill (H.R. 2944), as amended, was Laws, these laws remained in force for same time that Congress was repealing read the third time and passed. more than 60 years, and were repealed the Chinese Exclusion Laws, the U.S. f only as a matter of wartime expediency Government was imprisoning thou- AMERICAN LEGION during World War II. These laws con- sands of loyal Americans of Japanese AUTHORIZATION flicted directly with the fundamental descent in internment camps through- principles of equality and justice upon Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unan- out the West. Thus, the repeal of the which our Nation was founded. It is exclusion laws in 1943 can hardly be imous consent that the Judiciary Com- long past time for Congress to affirma- mittee be discharged from further con- viewed as a genuine acknowledgement tively reject the ignorance and hate by Congress of the racist nature of its sideration of S. 1639. that spurred passage of those laws. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without actions. In order to close the book on S. Res. 201 reflects the Senate’s re- this series of unjust laws, I urge sup- objection, it is so ordered. gret for the passage of those unjust The clerk will report the bill by title. port of this resolution to express the laws, but also affirms our commitment Senate’s regret, albeit belatedly, for The assistant legislative clerk read to ensuring that such policies never be- as follows: these shameful pieces of legislation. come law again. I commend the indi- Going forward, this resolution also A bill (S. 1639) to amend title 36, United viduals and organizations that have ad- reaffirms our commitment to the prin- States Code, to authorize the American Le- vocated for this important resolution. gion under its Federal charter to provide ciples of equality and justice upon guidance and leadership to the individual de- The Chinese Exclusion Laws reflected which our Nation was founded. I was partments and posts of the American Legion, a climate of intolerance and xeno- disappointed that, at the insistence of and for other purposes. phobia that viewed immigrants of Chi- some anonymous Republicans, the res- There being no objection, the Senate nese descent as inferior and incapable olution is being stripped by amend- proceeded to consider the bill. of assimilating as loyal Americans. ment of any reference to the Constitu- Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent Fueled in large part by an economic tion of the United States. That is inex- that the bill be read a third time and crisis and fears that Chinese immi- plicable to me. No one has anyone passed, the motion to reconsider be grants would take jobs away from come forward to take responsibility for laid upon the table, with no inter- other workers, the hostility against this change. It is being done in the vening action or debate, and any state- Chinese immigrants sometimes turned shadows, without accountability. I be- ments related to the bill be printed in violent. Through a number of state lieve that the Chinese Exclusion Laws the RECORD. laws and ordinances in many Western were incompatible with the spirit, and The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without states and several questionable court indeed the text, of our Constitution, objection, it is so ordered. rulings, Chinese immigrants were sys- our fundamental charter. I challenge The bill (S. 1639) was read the third tematically deprived of fundamental whoever felt it necessary to remove the time and passed, as follows: civil rights and privileges, rights that original reference in our resolution to should be guaranteed to all by our Con- S. 1639 the affront to the Constitution to come stitution. forward and explain why they were Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- Eventually, political pressure led resentatives of the United States of America in blocking this resolution unless that Congress assembled, Congress to prohibit the immigration change was made. of all Chinese persons into the United Contrary to the claims in the 1880s SECTION 1. ADDITIONAL POWER OF AMERICAN LEGION UNDER FEDERAL CHARTER. States. The Chinese Exclusion Act of that Chinese immigrants looked, acted, Section 21704 of title 36, United States 1882 explicitly banned Chinese immi- and sounded too different—too for- Code, is amended— grants from entering the United States eign—to ever become loyal Americans, (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) through for 10 years, and this ban was renewed we have all witnessed the incredible (8) as paragraphs (6) through (9), respec- and ultimately made permanent by contributions that Chinese Americans tively; and Congress through subsequent enact- have made to our country. America has (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol- ments. In passing these laws, Congress come a long way since the days of the lowing new paragraph (5): ‘‘(5) provide guidance and leadership to or- failed to adhere to our Nation’s basic Chinese Exclusion Laws. I hope that we ganizations and local chapters established founding principles that all are created all appreciate how our Nation’s diver- under paragraph (4), but may not control or equal, and that all persons deserve sity makes America better and strong- otherwise influence the specific activities basic human and civil rights. Instead, er.

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:28 Oct 07, 2011 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A06OC6.014 S06OCPT1 smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with SENATE October 6, 2011 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6353 As Chairman of the Judiciary Com- Whereas Chinese laborers, who made up the citizens and subjects of the most favored mittee, I have supported the nomina- the majority of the western portion of the nation’’; tions and recognized the service of railroad workforce, faced grueling hours and Whereas, on March 9, 1882, the Senate many Americans of Chinese descent extremely harsh conditions in order to lay passed the first Chinese Exclusion Act, hundreds of miles of track and were paid sub- which purported to implement the Angell serving as attorneys and judges standard wages; Treaty but instead excluded for 20 years both throughout the country, such as former Whereas without the tremendous efforts skilled and unskilled Chinese laborers, re- Assistant Attorney General for Civil and technical contributions of these Chinese jected an amendment that would have per- Rights Bill Lann Lee, and Federal immigrants, the completion of this vital na- mitted the naturalization of Chinese persons, Judges Denny Chin, Edmond Chang, Ed tional infrastructure would have been seri- and instead expressly denied Chinese persons Chen, and Dolly Gee. I am also mindful ously impeded; the right to be naturalized as American citi- of the service of the late Thomas Tang, Whereas from the middle of the 19th cen- zens; a Chinese American trailblazer on the tury through the early 20th century, Chinese Whereas, on April 4, 1882, President Ches- immigrants faced racial ostracism and vio- ter A. Arthur vetoed the first Chinese Exclu- Federal judiciary. lent assaults, including— sion Act as being incompatible with the I hope that passage of S. Res. 201 will (1) the 1887 Snake River Massacre in Or- terms and spirit of the Angell Treaty; mark a step in the Senate’s progress egon, at which 31 Chinese miners were killed; Whereas, on May 6, 1882, Congress passed toward greater commitment to pro- and the second Chinese Exclusion Act, which— tecting the civil and constitutional (2) numerous other incidents, including at- (1) prohibited skilled and unskilled Chinese rights of all Americans, regardless of tacks on Chinese immigrants in Rock laborers from entering the United States for Springs, San Francisco, Tacoma, and Los race or ethnicity. Unfortunately, in 10 years; Angeles; (2) was the first Federal law that excluded these tough economic times, it is not Whereas the United States instigated the a single group of people on the basis of race; difficult to hear echoes of the intoler- negotiation of the Burlingame Treaty, rati- and ance that led to the Chinese Exclusion fied by the Senate on October 19, 1868, which (3) required certain Chinese laborers al- Laws in some of the rhetoric of recent permitted the free movement of the Chinese ready legally present in the United States immigration debates. Congress should people to, from, and within the United who later wished to reenter to obtain ‘‘cer- not legislate out of fear and intoler- States and accorded to China the status of tificates of return’’, an unprecedented re- ance, and we must not allow laws like ‘‘most favored nation’’; quirement that applied only to Chinese resi- Whereas before consenting to the ratifica- the Chinese Exclusions Laws ever to dents; tion of the Burlingame Treaty, the Senate Whereas in response to reports that courts pass again. required that the Treaty would not permit were bestowing United States citizenship on Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent Chinese immigrants in the United States to persons of Chinese descent, the Chinese Ex- that the Brown of Massachusetts be naturalized United States citizens; clusion Act of 1882 explicitly prohibited all amendment, which is at the desk, be Whereas on July 14, 1870, Congress ap- State and Federal courts from naturalizing agreed to; the resolution, as amended, proved An Act to Amend the Naturalization Chinese persons; be agreed to; the preamble be agreed Laws and to Punish Crimes against the Whereas the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to, and the motions to reconsider be Same, and for other Purposes, and during underscored the belief of some Senators at consideration of such Act, the Senate ex- laid upon the table. that time that— pressly rejected an amendment to allow Chi- (1) the Chinese people were unfit to be nat- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without nese immigrants to naturalize; uralized; objection, it is so ordered. Whereas Chinese immigrants were subject (2) the social characteristics of the Chinese The amendment (No. 737) was agreed to the overzealous implementation of the were ‘‘revolting’’; to, as follows: Page Act of 1875 (18 Stat. 477), which— (3) Chinese immigrants were ‘‘like On page 9, line 1, strike ‘‘That the Senate— (1) ostensibly barred the importation of parasites’’; and ’’. women from ‘‘China, Japan, or any Oriental (4) the United States ‘‘is under God a coun- On page 9, between lines 1 and 2, insert the country’’ for purposes of prostitution; try of Caucasians, a country of white men, a following: (2) was disproportionately enforced against country to be governed by white men’’; Chinese women, effectively preventing the SECTION 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND EXPRES- Whereas, on July 3, 1884, notwithstanding SION OF REGRET. formation of Chinese families in the United United States treaty obligations with China The Senate— States and limiting the number of native- and other nations, Congress broadened the On page 10, strike line 1 and all that fol- born Chinese citizens; scope of the Chinese Exclusion Act— lows through ‘‘(3)’’ on line 5, and insert ‘‘(2)’’. Whereas, on February 15, 1879, the Senate (1) to apply to all persons of Chinese de- On page 10, line 11, strike ‘‘(4)’’ and insert passed ‘‘the Fifteen Passenger Bill,’’ which scent, ‘‘whether subjects of China or any ‘‘(3)’’. would have limited the number of Chinese other foreign power’’; and On page 10, after line 15, add the following: passengers permitted on any ship coming to (2) to provide more stringent requirements the United States to 15, with proponents of restricting Chinese immigration; SEC. 2. DISCLAIMER. the bill expressing that the Chinese were ‘‘an Whereas, on October 1, 1888, the Scott Act Nothing in this resolution may be con- indigestible element in our midst . . . with- was enacted into law, which— strued— out any adaptability to become citizens’’; (1) prohibited all Chinese laborers who (1) to authorize or support any claim Whereas, on March 1, 1879, President Hayes would choose or had chosen to leave the against the United States; or vetoed the Fifteen Passenger Bill as being United States from reentering; (2) to serve as a settlement of any claim incompatible with the Burlingame Treaty, (2) cancelled all previously issued ‘‘certifi- against the United States. which declared that ‘‘Chinese subjects vis- cates of return’’, which prevented approxi- The resolution (S. Res. 201), as iting or residing in the United States, shall mately 20,000 Chinese laborers abroad, in- amended, was agreed to. enjoy the same privileges . . . in respect to cluding 600 individuals who were en route to The preamble was agreed to. travel or residence, as may there be enjoyed the United States, from returning to their The resolution, with its preamble, by the citizens and subjects of the most fa- families or their homes; and reads as follows: vored nation’’; (3) was later determined by the Supreme Whereas in the aftermath of the veto of the Court to have abrogated the Angell Treaty; S. RES. 201 Fifteen Passenger Bill, President Hayes ini- Whereas, on May 5, 1892, the Geary Act was Whereas many Chinese came to the United tiated the renegotiation of the Burlingame enacted into law, which— States in the 19th and 20th centuries, as did Treaty, requesting that the Chinese govern- (1) extended the Chinese Exclusion Act for people from other countries, in search of the ment consent to restrictions on the immi- 10 years; opportunity to create a better life for them- gration of Chinese persons to the United (2) required all Chinese persons in the selves and their families; States; United States, but no other race of people, to Whereas the contributions of persons of Whereas these negotiations culminated in register with the Federal Government in Chinese descent in the agriculture, mining, the Angell Treaty, ratified by the Senate on order to obtain ‘‘certificates of residence’’; manufacturing, construction, fishing, and May 9, 1881, which— and canning industries were critical to estab- (1) allowed the United States to suspend, (3) denied Chinese immigrants the right to lishing the foundations for economic growth but not to prohibit, the immigration of Chi- be released on bail upon application for a in the Nation, particularly in the western nese laborers; writ of habeas corpus; United States; (2) declared that ‘‘Chinese laborers who are Whereas on an explicitly racial basis, the Whereas United States industrialists re- now in the United States shall be allowed to Geary Act deemed the testimony of Chinese cruited thousands of Chinese workers to as- go and come of their own free will’’; and persons, including American citizens of Chi- sist in the construction of the Nation’s first (3) reaffirmed that Chinese persons pos- nese descent, per se insufficient to establish major national transportation infrastruc- sessed ‘‘all the rights, privileges, immuni- the residency of a Chinese person subject to ture, the Transcontinental Railroad; ties, and exemptions which are accorded to deportation, mandating that such residence

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:28 Oct 07, 2011 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G06OC6.089 S06OCPT1 smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S6354 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 6, 2011

be established through the testimony of ‘‘at was founded on the principle that all persons S. RES. 288 least one credible white witness’’; are created equal, the laws enacted by Con- Whereas in the 1894 Gresham-Yang Treaty, gress in the late 19th and early 20th cen- Designating the week beginning October 9, the Chinese government consented to a pro- turies that restricted the political and civil 2011, as ‘‘National Wildlife Refuge Week’’ hibition of Chinese immigration and the en- rights of persons of Chinese descent violated Whereas in 1903, President Theodore Roo- forcement of the Geary Act in exchange for that principle; sevelt established the first national wildlife the readmission of previous Chinese resi- Whereas although an acknowledgment of refuge on Florida’s Pelican Island; dents; the Senate’s actions that contributed to dis- Whereas in 2011, the National Wildlife Ref- Whereas in 1898, the United States— crimination against persons of Chinese de- uge System, administered by the Fish and (1) annexed Hawaii; scent will not erase the past, such an expres- Wildlife Service, is the premier system of (2) took control of the Philippines; and sion will acknowledge and illuminate the in- lands and waters to conserve wildlife in the (3) excluded thousands of racially Chinese justices in our national experience and help world, and has grown to more than 150,000,000 residents of Hawaii and of the Philippines to build a better and stronger Nation; from entering the United States mainland; acres, 553 national wildlife refuges, and 38 Whereas the Senate recognizes the impor- wetland management districts in every State Whereas on April 29, 1902, Congress— tance of addressing this unique framework of (1) indefinitely extended all laws regu- and territory of the United States; discriminatory laws in order to educate the lating and restricting Chinese immigration Whereas national wildlife refuges are im- public and future generations regarding the and residence; and portant recreational and tourism destina- impact of these laws on Chinese and other (2) expressly applied such laws to United tions in communities across the Nation, and Asian persons and their implications to all States insular territories, including the Phil- these protected lands offer a variety of rec- Americans; and ippines; reational opportunities, including 6 wildlife- Whereas in 1904, after the Chinese govern- Whereas the Senate deeply regrets the en- actment of the Chinese Exclusion Act and re- dependent uses that the National Wildlife ment exercised its unilateral right to with- Refuge System manages: hunting, fishing, draw from the Gresham-Yang Treaty, Con- lated discriminatory laws that— (1) resulted in the persecution and political wildlife observation, photography, environ- gress permanently extended, ‘‘without modi- mental education, and interpretation; fication, limitation, or condition’’, all re- alienation of persons of Chinese descent; (2) unfairly limited their civil rights; Whereas more than 370 units of the Na- strictions on Chinese immigration and natu- tional Wildlife Refuge System have hunting ralization, making the Chinese the only ra- (3) legitimized racial discrimination; and (4) induced trauma that persists within the programs and more than 350 units of the Na- cial group explicitly singled out for immi- tional Wildlife Refuge System have fishing gration exclusion and permanently ineligible Chinese community: Now, therefore, be it programs, averaging more than 2,500,000 for American citizenship; Resolved, hunting visits and more than 7,100,000 fishing Whereas between 1910 and 1940, the Angel SECTION 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND EXPRES- visits; Island Immigration Station implemented the SION OF REGRET. Whereas the National Wildlife Refuge Sys- Chinese exclusion laws by— The Senate— (1) confining Chinese persons for up to (1) acknowledges that this framework of tem experiences 28,200,000 wildlife observa- nearly 2 years; anti-Chinese legislation, including the Chi- tion visits annually; (2) interrogating Chinese persons; and nese Exclusion Act, is incompatible with the Whereas national wildlife refuges are im- (3) providing a model for similar immigra- basic founding principles recognized in the portant to local businesses and gateway tion stations at other locations on the Pa- Declaration of Independence that all persons communities; cific coast and in Hawaii; are created equal; Whereas for every $1 appropriated, na- Whereas each of the congressional debates (2) deeply regrets passing 6 decades of leg- tional wildlife refuges generate $4 in eco- concerning issues of Chinese civil rights, islation directly targeting the Chinese peo- nomic activity; naturalization, and immigration involved in- ple for physical and political exclusion and Whereas the National Wildlife Refuge Sys- tensely racial rhetoric, with many Members the wrongs committed against Chinese and tem experiences approximately 45,700,000 vis- of Congress claiming that all persons of Chi- American citizens of Chinese descent who its every year, generating nearly nese descent were— suffered under these discriminatory laws; $1,700,000,000 and 27,000 jobs in local econo- (1) unworthy of American citizenship; and mies; (2) incapable of assimilation into American (3) reaffirms its commitment to preserving Whereas the National Wildlife Refuge Sys- society; and the same civil rights and constitutional pro- tem encompasses every kind of ecosystem in (3) dangerous to the political and social in- tections for people of Chinese or other Asian tegrity of the United States; the United States, including temperate, descent in the United States accorded to all tropical, and boreal forests, wetlands, Whereas the express discrimination in others, regardless of their race or ethnicity. these Federal statutes politically and ra- deserts, grasslands, arctic tundras, and re- cially stigmatized Chinese immigration into SEC. 2. DISCLAIMER. mote islands, and spans 12 time zones from the United States, enshrining in law the ex- Nothing in this resolution may be con- the Virgin Islands to Guam; clusion of the Chinese from the political strued— Whereas national wildlife refuges are home process and the promise of American free- (1) to authorize or support any claim to more than 700 species of birds, 220 species dom; against the United States; or of mammals, 250 species of reptiles and am- Whereas wartime enemy forces used the (2) to serve as a settlement of any claim phibians, and more than 1,000 species of fish; anti-Chinese legislation passed in Congress against the United States. Whereas national wildlife refuges are the primary Federal lands that foster produc- as evidence of American racism against the f Chinese, attempting to undermine the Chi- tion, migration, and wintering habitat for nese-American alliance and allied military RESOLUTIONS SUBMITTED TODAY waterfowl; efforts; Whereas since 1934, more than $750,000,000 Whereas, in 1943, at the urging of President Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unan- in funds, from the sale of the Federal Duck Franklin D. Roosevelt, and over 60 years imous consent that the Senate proceed Stamp to outdoor enthusiasts, has enabled after the enactment of the first discrimina- to the consideration en bloc of the fol- the purchase or lease of more than 5,300,000 tory laws against Chinese immigrants, Con- lowing resolutions, which were sub- acres of waterfowl habitat in the National gress— mitted earlier today: S. Res. 288, S. Wildlife Refuge System; (1) repealed previously enacted anti-Chi- Res. 289, and S. Res. 290. Whereas 59 refuges were established spe- nese legislation; and cifically to protect imperiled species, and of There being no objection, the Senate (2) permitted Chinese immigrants to be- the more than 1,300 federally listed threat- come naturalized United States citizens; proceeded to consider the resolutions ened and endangered species in the United Whereas despite facing decades of system- en bloc. States, 280 species are found on units of the atic, pervasive, and sustained discrimina- Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent National Wildlife Refuge System; tion, Chinese immigrants and Chinese-Amer- that the resolutions be agreed to, the Whereas national wildlife refuges are cores icans persevered and have continued to play preambles be agreed to, the motions to of conservation for larger landscapes and re- a significant role in the growth and success sources for other agencies of the Federal of the United States; reconsider be laid upon the table en Government and State governments, private Whereas 6 decades of Federal legislation bloc, with no intervening action or de- landowners, and organizations in their ef- deliberately targeting Chinese by race— bate, and any related statements be forts to secure the wildlife heritage of the (1) restricted the capacity of generations of printed in the RECORD. individuals and families to openly pursue the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without United States; Whereas 39,000 volunteers and more than American dream without fear; and objection, it is so ordered. (2) fostered an atmosphere of racial dis- 220 national wildlife refuge ‘‘Friends’’ orga- crimination that deeply prejudiced the civil The resolutions were agreed to. nizations contribute nearly 1,400,000 hours rights of Chinese immigrants; The preambles were agreed to. annually, the equivalent of 665 full-time em- Whereas diversity is one of our Nation’s The resolutions, with their pre- ployees, and provide an important link with greatest strengths, and, while this Nation ambles, read as follows: local communities;

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:28 Oct 07, 2011 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A06OC6.032 S06OCPT1 smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with SENATE