Kwong Hai Chew v. Colding
Headline: Court limits immigration rule and blocks secret-exclusion power, holding the Government cannot deny a hearing to a lawful permanent resident seaman detained aboard a returning American ship.
Holding: The Court held that the Attorney General may not, under 8 CFR §175.57(b), deny notice and any hearing to a lawful permanent resident seaman detained aboard a returning American vessel, and it reversed the lower courts.
- Requires notice and a hearing for resident aliens detained on return voyages.
- Limits use of secret evidence to block hearings under the cited regulation.
- Affects seamen, lawful permanent residents, and immigration detention practices.
Summary
Background
Kwong Hai Chew is a Chinese seaman who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 1945, lived with his American wife in New York, and had a pending petition to become a U.S. citizen. After being cleared for service, he signed on as chief steward on a U.S.-flag ship that called at foreign ports. At San Francisco he was labeled “temporarily excluded” under a regulation that lets the Government use confidential information and deny a hearing, and he was kept on board and denied any chance to learn or answer the charges when the ship returned to New York.
Reasoning
The Court focused on whether the regulation (8 CFR §175.57(b)) authorizes denying notice and any hearing to someone who is a lawful permanent resident and, for constitutional purposes, is treated as physically present in the United States. The Court said the regulation naturally applies to people treated as entrants coming from abroad, not to residents who are within the protection of the Fifth Amendment. It held that the resident’s right to procedural due process—notice of charges and a hearing—could not be ignored merely because he had been on a foreign voyage as a seaman. The Court reversed the lower courts and sent the case back to the District Court.
Real world impact
The decision means agencies cannot use that regulation to deny hearings to lawful permanent residents detained on return voyages; resident aliens are entitled to notice and a chance to be heard before exclusion procedures are applied. The Court did not decide whether the Government could deport the resident after giving proper notice and a hearing.
Dissents or concurrances
The opinion notes that Justice Minton dissented, but the text of his views is not summarized in the opinion excerpt provided.
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