Lewis v. Frick
Headline: Immigrant who brought a woman from Canada for alleged prostitution can be deported; Court upheld deportation to his birth country and confirmed administrative removal powers without a criminal conviction.
Holding:
- Allows deportation without a criminal conviction for importing someone for immoral purposes.
- Treats an immigration official’s factual finding as binding when supported by evidence.
- Permits returning the person to his country of birth, not necessarily the last country visited.
Summary
Background
An immigrant from Russia lived in the United States for years, moved to Detroit, and on November 17, 1910 crossed into Windsor, Canada. He returned with a woman he said was his wife. Immigration officials arrested him and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor found he had “procured, imported and brought into the United States a woman for an immoral purpose,” ordering deportation to Russia. He was separately tried on a criminal charge of importing an alien woman for immoral purposes and was acquitted. He then sought release via habeas corpus; the district court ordered discharge, but the Court of Appeals reversed and sustained deportation, and the Supreme Court reviewed that appeal.
Reasoning
The Court considered whether a prior lawful residence shields an alien from administrative deportation and whether deportation requires a criminal conviction. Citing prior decisions, the Court held that previous domicile does not protect an alien who leaves and then returns with a prohibited entrant; the three-year limit for deportation runs from the prohibited entry. It explained that the exclusion clause (§2) and the felony provision (§3) address different things, and that §§20 and 21 allow deportation without a criminal conviction. The Court found substantial evidence supporting the Secretary’s conclusion that the claimed marriage was a fabrication and that the woman was brought for immoral purposes, and therefore the Secretary’s factual finding, when fairly made and supported, is binding. The Court also noted exhibits used by the Secretary were not in the record but still found the evidence sufficient.
Real world impact
The ruling confirms that immigration officials may remove an immigrant who brings someone into the country for prostitution or other immoral purposes through administrative proceedings, even without a criminal conviction. It permits returning the person to his country of birth rather than the last foreign port visited. The Court left open whether the Secretary has broader discretion in choosing the deportation destination.
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