314 WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION

Mr. Frrzearrick. Yes.
Mr. GreEN. Bringing along with them the J aps and the Chinamen.
Mr. FrrzpaTrick. We have not taken any position on that, as yet.
Mr. Green. Well, I hope in view of that situation the restricted
immigration quota will be made strictly applicable as to those islands.
More aliens are secreted right across that strait down there, I believe,
than anywhere. Occasionally you read about so many Chinamen or
so many Japanese being caught right off the coast of Florida, right in
my own district.
Mr. Fitzpatrick. Yes.
Mr. Green. By all means, the quota should strictly apply or we
should prohibit entirely immigration from those West Indies Islands
down there.
Mr. De Priest. May I ask a question, Mr. Chairman.
The CralrMAN. Yes; certainly.
Mr. De Priest. Could we not effectively solve some of the present
unemployment problems by employing our own people here?
Mr. Frrzeatrick. You mean actually in the Southwest?
Mr. DE Priest. Yes; actually. We must have about 4,000,000
unemployed in this country. You know that. Should we mot
attempt to find employment for these people that we have here, who
are unable to find employment, before we permit any more to come in?
Mr. Frrzeatrick. Theoretically; yes. Practically, I do not think
that you can move 30,000 mechanics who are unemployed in Detroit
into the Southwest country, or that that will solve the problem.
Mr. DE Prizs?. You are talking about unskilled labor?
Mr. Frrzeatrick. No; skilled labor I mean.
Mr. DE Priest. I am not talking about that character of labor.
I am talking about unskilled labor.
Mr. Firzrarrick. Now, the same thing applies. I doubt very
much if you could move white unemployed labor, temporarily unemployed,
 from one of the largest industrial centers into the Southwest,
 And, if you attempted to move that labor, I doubt whether
they would go. I do not think if they did go that that would solve
the problem, because next year there would be: employment for
them again in industry.
Mr. Dz Priest, Well, we have had unemployment for a number of
years. It did not start this year nor last year. It has been going
on for several years. It is not something that has just started.
Mr. Frrzpatrick. Itis a difficult problem, of course, Congressman,
to decide.
Mr. De Priest. What is the basis for having them? Is it not
because of the fact, because of the economic conditions, that they
are willing to work cheaper than other labor, American labor. .
Mr. Frrzearrick. You mean, the Mexican labor is cheap labor.
Mr. De Priest. Yes.
Mr. Frrzearrick. I think, Mr. Congressman, that what happened
was that these people developed this agricultural land down there,
and in developing it, found at hand a source of labor.
Mr. De Priest. Cheaper than American labor.
Mr. Frrzearrick. Well, to say that it is cheaper than American
labor is begging the question. They were there, you see.
Mr. DE Prizst. They were brought in.
The CHAIRMAN. They were outside of the country.