office because the wage level offered by the employer is not regarded as sufficient.

I may point out that if and when the regional office approves the application, it must still go to Washington for a final approval before the certificate can be granted.

These cases in Curacao include a family whose minor child is in the United States on parole status, and where the father may be unable to qualify for labor certification because he happens to be a printer.

I visited Curacao 2 weeks ago, and I had the difficult task of informing this family that they could not come to the United States to join their children and other relatives here.

We hope that with the help of your committee, Mr. Chairman, and other interested Members of Congress, the suggestion can be made to the administration that some kind of waiver can be worked out for these Cuban refugees in transit lands, whose only desire is to join their relatives in our free country.

I want to express deep appreciation to you, Mr. Chairman, to this committee and to all Members of Congress for their strong support of the U.S. Government program of assistance to Cuban refugees and to the work of the voluntary agencies.

I want to express our appreciation to the State Department, to the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Justice Department and to the Cuban refugee program of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for their cooperation and humanitarian concern for the plight of Cuban refugees.

I am pleased to note today that our friend, Mr. Larry Hardin, an official of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and our friend Mr. John Thomas, Director of the Cuban refugee program of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, are present in close cooperation with us. They are among the men in Government who have worked with us for many years on refugee problems all over the world.

We also want to place on record our heartfelt thanks to all the Jewish communities throughout the country who have so willingly and so sacrificially assumed the responsibility of helping the Cuban refugees make satisfactory adjustments and become integrated into the the lifesteam of our country.

May I conclude, Mr. Chairman, by referring to a young girl brought to the United States by United Hias Service as an unaccompanied child and placed in a foster home in Philadelphia. This young lady, Miss Aida now 18 years of age, who will graduate from high school this June, is the recipient of a scholarship to Bryn Mawr College. Four years ago, as a student in junior high school, she was the winner of an essay contest sponsored by the National Conference of Christians and Jews on to topic of "Brotherhood." In her concluding paragraph, she stated:

Brotherhood is something that cannot be taught you. Your parents and teachers try to inculcate it in your mind and soul while you are developing, Nevertheless, it depends on you, whether you will observe its principles for the rest of your life. If you do, even in the hardest times, you should feel happy and grateful, because you are the owner of one of the few treasures that cannot be bought by all the money of the world. If you do not, then you should feel very sorry for yourself, because you are essentially lost in life.

Mr. Chairman, I am sure you will agree that Aida's statement expresses eloquently the humanitarian spirit which has motivated the Government and the people of the United States to offer a haven and home to these victims of totalitarianism. Their gratitude will be expressed by the invaluable contributions which they will make to the continued development of our country, as the leader of the free world. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Chairman KENNEDY. Thank you for your very fine statement. I would be interested in finding out whether you have a contractual arrangement with the Government?

Mr. RICE. Yes, we do.

Chairman KENNEDY. And is that on the same basis as the other agencies?

Mr. RICE. It is the same formula, of course, for all four of the voluntary agencies working with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Chairman KENNEDY. Have you been satisfied with those arrangements?

Mr. RICE. I think that in the main we are satisfied. We feel that the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare has done everything that they can within its power and its budgetary limitations to be of help to the voluntary agencies. It so happens, of course, that we are at a disadvantage simply because the number of Jewish refugees is relatively small, so that the income we receive from this per capita grant for each refugee who is resettled out of Miami is relatively small. Of course, it does not cover any significant part of the actual cost that the Jewish community must meet in settling these families, but I mention that not because I think that there is any unfairness in it-it is quite obvious that the same kind of contract must be arranged with each organization and for many reasons.

Chairman KENNEDY. But it is strictly monetary, is that right—if you had an increase in the allowance, would that help? That is your principal thought?

Mr. RICE. I would not want to say that I would ask for an increase in the allowance, because I do not think that it would be exactly fair for our agency to receive a higher per capita than is given to other agencies.

Chairman KENNEDY. So far as the working operation is concerned, how would it affect it?

Mr. RICE. If I understand your question, you are asking about our work in relationship to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare?

Chairman KENNEDY. I would be interested to know whether you feel the $100 allowance is sufficient to take care of the work that you are doing? Is it adequate or inadequate?

Mr. RICE. In our case, it certainly is not adequate. Our actual costs run much higher, but that has to be seen, of course, in the light of the problems of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the other voluntary agencies whose caseloads are greater than

ours.

Chairman KENNEDY. Do you depend mostly on the various local agencies to help you in your work?

Senator FONG. Suppose it was a national of another country who had a son who was a Cuban citizen?

Mr. STEVENSON. There is no hard and fast rule to that, but presumably if the parent was dependent on the son the parent would be permitted to come. Perhaps the representative of Immigration and Naturalization can comment on that.

Mr. DE HAAN. What kind of situation currently exists regarding political activities in the refugee community?

Mr. SAYRE. The political activity within the refugee committee is nowhere near as active as it was several years ago. We have no complete list of Cuban refugee organizations in the United States. The Cuban refugee community is fragmented, with an estimated minimum of 400 refugee groups and a maximum of 800. They are politically active in the sense that they have an interest in Cuba, and going back to Cuba, and so on, but they are not organized in any fashion which would make such activity effective.

Mr. DE HAAN. Two or three years ago one of your predecessors made a statement before this subcommittee regarding the desirability of getting some cohesion among the refugee organizations. Hasn't this effort been made and encouraged?

Mr. SAYRE. We have always been interested in the Cuban refugees speaking more with one voice and cooperating better among themselves on their own interest, but they have tended to fragment more than they have tended to organize. They are far more fragmented now than several years ago.

Mr. DE HAAN. Does the refugee community have any measurable influence on the attitude of the United States toward Cuba or Latin America? Do any refugee organizations play a specific role-in consultations, for example?

Mr. SAYRE. As far as I am aware, they play no role at all. Our policy toward Cuba has been developed in consultation with governments-all the governments in the hemisphere-and Cuban refugees have no discernable influence.

Mr. DE HAAN. How do you handle an organization trying to express its views to the Department?

Mr. STEVENSON. We refer them to the Office of Coordinator of Cuban Affairs in Miami, Henry Taylor. His job there is to coordinate all matters related to Cuba that come up in the Miami area. He acts in a liaison function with regard to other Government agencies in Miami that have duties with regard to Cubans and Cuba.

For example, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health-all are involved in the refugee movement. The officer in charge in Miami tries to keep things moving along smoothly. If problems arise he tries to bring different officers together to solve the problems and also keeps in touch with the Cubans in the Miami area and works with the local officials.

At the time the U.S. Departments involved are Health, Education, and Welfare; Justice, and State.

Mr. DE HAAN. You would include the Coast Guard and the FBI, for example?

Mr. STEVENSON. That would be under Justice.

Mr. DE HAAN. Would you supply a list of all Federal agencies and departments active in the Cuban refugee program, and a brief statement on their function?

working in the Miami area. And speaking only for my own agency, I think that our experience is that the major factor in good adjustment of a refugee's family is almost always that he is received and helped in the local community by an organization of his own faith. For that reason it has seemed to us-and I believe it is true of the other agencies-that while theoretically it might seem that it would be a good idea if the numbers were relatively evenly distributed, that is, if one agency had their staff available and another agency was overloaded, to help them, in fact, I do not think that our agency could do an adequate job in dealing with a Catholic family, for example, or I do not think that the National Catholic Welfare Conference could give the kind of help that a Jewish family would expect when they arrive in the local community.

Mr. ABRAMS. I am actually talking about the arrival in Miami, before they are transferred to the local community, their ultimate destination.

Mr. RICE. I might mention this, that there is, certainly, a fine spirit of cooperation among the agencies on an ad hoc basis. For example, I know that our staff did not happen to be on hand when a plane arrived and a Jewish refugee family was among the passengers, there would be no hesitation on the part of a representative of NCWC or Church World Service, or the International Rescue Committee, to give immediate help and to call our office and to turn them over to us at the appropriate time.

I think you might, also, be interested in knowing that the members of the Cuban Jewish community in Miami have a little snackbar service which they have opened at the arrival center. Of course, this is open to all Cuban refugees. I think among the former Cuban refugees who want to help the newcomers there are many groups like this of Catholics, Protestants, or Jews who give their help to everyone who is arriving.

Mr. ABRAMS. You have indicated that approximately 85 percent of the Jewish community in Cuba has left?

Mr. RICE. Yes.

Mr. ABRAMS. Do you anticipate that close to 100 percent will ultimately leave?

Of

Mr.RICE. Well, I do not think that I would go quite that far. We have listed already the names submitted to the U.S. Government for the airlift of more than one-half of those who are still in Cuba. course, that list is constantly growing. My own guess is that as long as there are opportunities to leave either by the U.S. airlift or by these transit area opportunities, that number will continue to dwindle and. eventually, the community will probably be no more than a few hundred at best.

Mr. ABRAMS. I take it that their desire to leave, in your opinion, is in no way the result of any anti-Semitic attitude on the part of the Castro government, but rather, generally, that they leave because of other reasons: is that right?

Mr. RICE. That is correct.

Mr. DE HAAN. My question is this; what is the situation of Cubans in Miami with respect to benefiting under public welfare programs? Mr. RICE. May I assume, Mr. de Haan, you are asking in particular about the group that we are working with, the Cuban Jewish refugees?

Mr. DE HAAN. Your group, and the refugees in general.

Mr. RICE. I can speak reasonably authoritatively for our own group. I will be glad to venture a comment on the total Cuban refugee group. Mr. DE HAAN. Yes.

Mr. RICE. There are only 65 Jewish Cuban refugees who are receiving public assistance, to the best of our knowledge, in the Miami area, and we are devoting every effort to reducing that number as quickly as we can. Naturally, these are the most difficult cases, involving sick or aged people or other types of social problems.

We believe that from all of our experience, perhaps, 25 or 30 percent of the Jewish refugees will stay in the Miami area, because that is where their relatives happen to be. It will be a very small fraction who may require public or private welfare assistance. I think, in general, the figures will show, as Mr. John Thomas or the representatives of the other voluntary agencies can tell you, that the percentage of those on relief in Miami is very small. And I would like to support and associate myself with the comments of the previous witness, Mr. McCarthy, that, in fact, the Miami economy has benefited substantially from the Cuban refugees. I speak not only of the substantial amount of money that comes into the community as a result of the relief program, but of the enterprising way that the Cubans have started their own businesses, have rehabilitated residential and business areas.

I do not know if you are acquainted, for example, with this item in one of the Miami newspapers of some few months ago where a banker is quoted as saying that

the Cubans have made a wonderful contribution to the revival of the business and economy of Miami.

He points out, for example, that

new business these people have opened are giving employment to thousands of others, both Cubans and Americans. We feel that the Cubans gave a spurt to Miami's balance on business economy and that of the fringe areas.

So, in general, our feeling is that the burden of the relatively small number of Cuban refugees who require public or private assistance is a very small proportion, as compared with the tremendous boost in that the Cubans have given to the Miami area. The same thing is true, of course, on a smaller scale wherever they have gone over the country. My testimony and Mr. McCarthy's testimony indi

cates that.

Mr. DE HAAN. Do you support programs of assistance for Cuban refugees in Mexico and in Spain and in other places?

Mr. RICE. Yes, we do, Mr. de Haan. In Curacao, a tiny Jewish community, by virtue of their good relationships with the government, have been able to get permission for these people to come there, but they are not able to support their maintenance costs for the refugees, so that we are spending, approximately $2,500 to $3,000 monthly while they wait for visas.

In Mexico there is a smaller number, approximately 20 at the present time. And our local United Hias Committee has been meeting the responsibility for their care and maintenance.

In Spain there have been very few Cuban Jewish refugees, no more than one or two or three families at any one time, but again, because the