Office of the Historian

330. Memorandum of Conversation0

March 23, 1960, 3 p.m.

SUBJECT

  • Spanish Immigration

PARTICIPANTS

  • U.S.
    • The Under Secretary for Political Affairs
    • Ambassador John Davis Lodge
    • Mr. Robert McCollum, Deputy Administrator, SCA
    • Mr. Robert H. McBride, WE
    • Mr. Francis R. Starrs, WE
    • Mr. Fernando A. Van Reigersberg, LS
  • Spanish
    • Sr. Fernando Maria Castiella, Spanish Foreign Minister
    • Ambassador Jose M. de Areilza, Spanish Embassy
    • Sr. Jaime de Pinies, Spanish Foreign Ministry

The Foreign Minister raised the question of Spanish immigration, mentioning that there were 15,000 Spanish registrants for immigration to the United States, whereas Spain’s annual quota was 250 persons. The Minister expressed the hope that something could be done to improve the Spanish prospects for immigration to the United States.

Mr. McCollum said the easiest and quickest relief for Spain might be through further amendment to an amendment already passed by the House to Public Law 85–892. The Spanish Embassy had suggested that this further amendment might provide special non-quota numbers for 2,000 heads of Spanish families “displaced” from Morocco or the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla as a direct or indirect result of Moroccan independence. The Department has discussed this suggestion informally with Chairman Francis E. Walter of the House Subcommittee, and plans to discuss it again with him and with Senator Eastland of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the first available opportunity. Nothing definite could be said at present about the prospects of enacting such an amendment.

On other possible actions, Mr. McCollum mentioned that the President’s message to Congress on immigration1 had mentioned a special category on refugees which was couched in fairly broad terms, and it was possible that some Spaniards could be covered under this proposal. [Page 769] Hearings on the President’s proposed legislation would begin on March 24, but it was too soon to know whether or not concrete results would be expected.

In reply to a comment by Ambassador Lodge, Mr. McCollum mentioned that the President was proposing the pooling of unused quotas and the proportional division of the numbers among countries whose quotas were oversubscribed. If enacted, this proposal would benefit Spanish immigration. Mr. McCollum added that previous mortgages on the Spanish quota to provide visas for Basque sheepherders had been repealed. Ambassador Areilza mentioned favorably the success of the sheepherder programs.

  1. Source: Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1616. Confidential. Drafted by Starrs and approved in M on April 5. See also Documents 328–329 and 331.↩
  2. For text of President Eisenhower’s request for the liberalization of immigration legislation, March 17, see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960, pp. 938–940.↩