John F. Kennedy photo

Proclamation 3441—Immigration Quotas

December 01, 1961


By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Whereas under the provisions of section 202(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, each independent country, self-governing dominion, mandated territory, and territory under the international trusteeship system of the United Nations, other than independent countries of North, Central, and South America, is entitled to be treated as a separate quota area when approved by the Secretary of State; and

Whereas under the provisions of section 201(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Attorney General, jointly, are required to determine the annual quota of any quota area established pursuant to the provisions of section 202(a) of the said Act, and to report to the President the quota of each quota area so determined; and

Whereas under the provisions of section 202(e) of the said Act, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Attorney General, jointly, are required to revise the quotas, whenever necessary, to provide for any political changes requiring a change in the list of quota areas; and

Whereas the State of Kuwait, the former Sheikhdom of Kuwait, has been extended de jure recognition by the United States; and

Whereas on June 1, 1961, the northern part of the former British Cameroon, a United Nation Trust Territory, united with the Federation of Nigeria; and

Whereas on October 1, 1961, the southern part of the former British Cameroon, a United Nations Trust Territory, united with the former Republic of Cameroun to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon; and

Whereas the Syrian Arab Republic was extended de jure recognition by the United States on October 10, 1961; and

Whereas, under the provisions of section 202(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, the annual quota of any newly established quota area shall be not less than, the sum total of quotas in effect immediately preceding the change in boundaries, change of administrative arrangements, or other political change requiring a change of the list of quota areas; and--

Whereas the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Attorney General have jointly determined and reported to me the four immigration quotas hereinafter set forth:

Now, Therefore, I, John F. Kennedy, President of the United States of America, acting under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the aforesaid Act of Congress, do hereby proclaim and make known that the annual quotas of the quota areas hereinafter designated have been determined in accordance with the law to be, and shall be, as follows:

Quota Area..........Quota

Cameroon...........151

Kuwait.............100

Nigeria............149

Syria..............100

The establishment of an immigration quota for any quota area is solely for the purpose of compliance with the pertinent provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act and is not to be considered as having any significance extraneous to such purpose.

Proclamation No. 3298 of June 3, 1959, as amended, entitled "Immigration Quotas," is further amended by the abolishment of the immigration quotas established for British Cameroon, Cameroun and Nigeria and by the addition of the immigration quotas established by this proclamation.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this first day of December in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-sixth.

Signature of John F. Kennedy

JOHN F. KENNEDY

By the President:

DEAN RUSK,

Secretary of State.

John F. Kennedy, Proclamation 3441—Immigration Quotas Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/270208

Simple Search of Our Archives