Low Wah Suey v. Backus

Background

A Chinese woman, Li A. Sim, was married to Low Wah Suey, a man born in the United States, and they lived together in California after coming to this country. An immigration officer found her in a house of prostitution within three years of her entry, and the Department of Commerce and Labor ordered her deported under federal laws that remove aliens found in prostitution. Her husband filed a court petition seeking her release, alleging procedural problems and that marriage to an American should protect her.

Reasoning

The Court addressed whether marriage to a U.S.-born man made her a citizen and whether the deportation process denied her fair treatment. The Court explained that Congress decides who may be naturalized, and under existing law a Chinese person could not be naturalized, so her marriage did not change her status; she therefore remained an alien under the deportation statutes. The Court also reviewed the procedural complaints — absence of counsel during an initial examination, lack of power to compel witnesses, and reliance on hearsay — and found the rules allowed a later hearing with counsel and did not show a manifest unfairness or abuse of discretion. The trial court’s dismissal of the habeas petition on demurrer was therefore upheld.

Real world impact

The decision confirms that an alien who cannot be naturalized may be deported for being found in a house of prostitution within the statutory period, even if married to an American-born spouse. Questions about changing that rule are for Congress, not the courts.