the homeless, the persecuted and the less fortunate of other lands. It is a dramatic contrast to the tragic events taking place in East Germany and in other captive nations". Overall, the President viewed this emergency immigration legislation as a significant humanitarian act that would contribute toward a greater understanding and better cooperation between free nations of the world. Provisions of the Law The Refugee Relief Act of 1953 intended to help refugees escape from Communist persecution, natural disaster, and military operations by allowing them to come into the United States as immigrants. Furthermore, the act also addressed the problems resulting from population pressures in Italy, Greece, and Netherlands by extending immigration to relatives of American citizens and permanent resident aliens. Another main focus of this act was including immigration of orphans and permitting certain aliens already in the United States as nonimmigrants to become permanent residents of the United States. In short, the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 permitted 214,000 immigrants without being subject to the quota limitations under the McCarran-Walter Act. The following is a list of distinct groups of non-citizens who benefited from the Refugee Relief Act of 1953: refugees, escapees, and German expellees. The Act defined Refugees as people "... in a country or area which is neither Communist nor Communist-dominated, who because of persecution, fear of persecution, natural calamity or military operations is out of his usual place of abode and unable to return thereto, who has not been firmly resettled, and who is in urgent need of assistance for the essentials of life or for transportation". In other words, refugees are people who lack "the essentials of life." Escapees are refugees who fled from the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics or other Communist areas of Europe due to persecution or fear of persecution based on race, religion, or political opinion cannot return. Finally, German Expellees are refugees of German ethnic origin living in the German Federal Republic, western sector of Berlin, or in Austria who was born and forcibly removed from the following countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Soviet Socialist Republics, Yugoslavia, or places under the control of those countries expect a part of Germany where the Soviet military occupies. The Act lists the allocation of special non-quota visas. For instance, 186,000 out of 214,000 were refugees, expellees, and escapees from Communist persecution, natural disaster, and military operations, both in Europe and Asia, making