United States v. Wong You

Background

The case involves Chinese men who entered the United States secretly in a way the Immigration Act of February 20, 1907, said was unlawful. They were arrested while traveling through the country and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor ordered them deported under the new immigration law. A federal district court denied their habeas corpus petition, but the Circuit Court of Appeals ordered their release because it found they were Chinese laborers and thought only the older Chinese exclusion laws applied.

Reasoning

The Court was asked whether the general 1907 immigration law or the older Chinese exclusion statutes governed how these men could be removed. Justice Holmes wrote that the 1907 law plainly allows the Secretary to summarily deport any alien who entered unlawfully within three years, and that the appeals court improperly read the older Chinese statutes to create an exception. The opinion explains that the earlier laws show special concern about Chinese immigration but do not bar the government from using the newer, broader deportation procedure, and notes the 1907 act lacks a clause excluding Chinese people and even contemplates deportation to trans-Pacific ports.

Real world impact

The decision means federal officials may use the 1907 summary deportation process for unlawfully entered Chinese laborers instead of being limited to the older, more cumbersome exclusion procedure. People most affected are Chinese laborers detained while traveling and the officials who carry out removals. The ruling resolves which statutory removal process applies and gives the government the quicker remedy described in the 1907 law.