It was a situation that would only grow more intense right after World War 2 and right up to the present. Countries ravaged by war and later, political strife, seeking to find a new life in America; a place welcoming and free of oppression and destruction.
At least it seemed that way.
In this episode of the Mutual Broadcasting series Northwestern Reviewing Stand from July 11, 1943, the question is posed; “What obligation does America have in the current situation in China?” The Sino-Japanese War had been going on since 1937. America joined right after Pearl Harbor. We were staunch allies, and now America was fighting alongside China in an attempt to squelch Japan’s land-grab and to secure vital raw materials and bases for American bombers to land and take off during round-the-clock raids over Tokyo.
But the question of accepting more than the quota of Chinese refugees was a thorny one, since current Immigration rules stipulated only 100 Chinese Nationals could claim refugee status in the U.S., during any given year.
The panel, during the course of the half-hour argues vigorously for and against raising the quotas to allow more Chinese in. Some of the arguments against raising quotas a flimsy one at best. Saying there were already some 78,000 Chinese Nationals living in the U.S., those against were afraid this would set up to be overrun. While others suggesting raising the quota was the only decent thing to do, since China was an ally after all.
It’s interesting to note that the same arguments against allowing more refugees into the U.S. are much the same as they are now. Fear of being overrun by a Minority – fear of job loss and loss of identity were major factors driving the opposing argument. Failure to assimilate culture and the isolation, particularly of Chinese into communities was another. During one exchange a panel member exclaims “there are Chinatowns all over America”.
As a nation of immigrants, we forgot a lot over the years – and World War 2 wouldn’t be any different.
But this was the status of refugees in America on July 11, 1943 as discussed on The Northwestern Reviewing Stand.
(Caveat: the original discs were badly damaged owing to age, poor storage and general neglect – there are parts that are hard to hear and the sound is marred in places by large chunks of deterioration. Much was done to retrieve as much useable sound as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause in fully understanding the broadcast, but history, particularly in this case, is vital and necessary. So be warned.)
