Portrait of John F. Kennedy
Politician · policy
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John F. Kennedy on Illegal Immigration

Advocate for Reform (moderate)

TL;DR

John F. Kennedy strongly advocated for reforming the existing discriminatory national-origins quota immigration system.

Key Points

  • He wrote A Nation of Immigrants, which argued for reforming the existing quota system based on national origins, a system he deemed intolerable.

  • He submitted a draft bill for immigration reform to Congress in 1963, which aimed to eliminate national-origins quotas and prioritize family reunification and skills.

  • His successor signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which was based on his proposals and abolished the previous quota system that favored Western Europeans.

Summary

John F. Kennedy was deeply involved in advocating for a major overhaul of U.S. immigration policy, though his specific focus was on legal immigration reform rather than unauthorized immigration control. He wrote the book A Nation of Immigrants, which argued for replacing the national-origins quota system that heavily favored Western Europeans with a more generous, flexible, and fair framework. He was assassinated before Congress passed the overhaul he proposed in 1963; the resulting Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, signed by his successor, was based on his draft bill.

While Kennedy's proposed legislation ultimately led to the 1965 Act—which critics later argued inadvertently contributed to rising unauthorized immigration by shifting focus away from certain regions and creating backlogs in legal channels—his primary documented concern was correcting the racial and national discrimination inherent in the pre-1965 laws. He believed immigration policy should be characterized by openness, reflecting America's history as a nation of immigrants, which he considered a moral imperative.

Key Quotes

“Immigration policy should be generous; it should be fair; it should be flexible”

“The quota system was...intolerable”.

Frequently Asked Questions

John F. Kennedy’s primary documented focus was on reforming the legal immigration system to eliminate national-origin quotas, which he saw as discriminatory. Information regarding his specific position on unauthorized immigration is less detailed in the available sources. His policy advocacy, however, unintentionally set the stage for later debates concerning illegal immigration after the 1965 Act passed.

No, former President John F. Kennedy did not say that illegal immigration is a moral good; that quote is incorrectly attributed to him. An Associated Press fact check clarified that the quote actually belongs to Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana. John F. Kennedy’s writings focused on the positive, moral imperative of legal immigration.

John F. Kennedy proposed comprehensive immigration reform during his career, advocating for a shift away from quotas based on national origin. His proposals favored a system based more on family relationships and employment skills, aiming to make immigration policy generous and fair. These ideas formed the blueprint for the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, passed after his death.