American Immigration and Citizenship Conference

The American Immigration and Citizenship Conference (AICC) and its predecessors, the National Council on Naturalization and Citizenship and the American Immigration Conference, share information and coordinate activities of organizations and agencies concerned with a more humane, nondiscriminatory immigration and naturalization policy.

The American Immigration and Citizenship Conference (AICC) and its predecessors, the National Council on Naturalization and Citizenship (NCNC) and the American Immigration Conference (AIC), shared information with and coordinated the activities of organizations and agencies concerned with a more humane, nondiscriminatory immigration and naturalization policy.

The National Council on Naturalization and Citizenship was formed in 1930 as an association of organizations and individuals who sought to reform naturalization laws and regulations. The Council advocated policies and procedures that were humane, uniform, and simple. Among its prominent leaders were Ruth Z. Murphy, Read Lewis, Abram Orlow, and Frank Orlow. The American Immigration Conference was formed in 1954 by representatives of thirty-one immigration-related organizations and agencies who sought a more humane, nondiscriminatory alternative to the existing national origins quota system. In 1960, the two organizations, which already shared many officers and activities, merged to form the American Immigration and Citizenship Conference.

The American Immigration and Citizenship Conference served as a clearinghouse of information and coordinated activities for organizations and agencies committed to reforming immigration policy. Its efforts were recognized as influential in shaping the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965. In addition to monitoring legislation and administrative regulations, AICC committees conducted studies on the integration of immigrants and education for citizenship tests. In 1982, AICC became a part of the National Immigration Forum.

More information on the history of the three organizations is available in Romanofsky, Peter, ed. Social Service Organizations (The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Institutions) . Westport, CT: 1978. 87-92, 519-23.