Barber, District Director v. Tadayasu Abo Barber, District Director v. Kaname Furuya

These are appeals from two judgments of the district court granting the amended applications in each case, for writs of ha-beas corpus against respondent Irving F. Wixon, District Director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, predecessor in office of appellant Barber, and ordering appellees’ release from his custody.

The application alleged that each of the applicants is a native born United States citizen of Japanese ancestry who had foresworn his allegiance to the United States in proceedings under § 401 (i) of the Nationality Act of 1940, as amended, and that respondent held each in custody for the purpose of deporting him to Japan as an enemy alien subject of that country, with whom we are at war.

The application also alleged that the renunciations were procured by coercion attributable to the United States while they were held in an internment camp at Tule Lake under conditions substantially the same as those found by this court in Acheson v. Murakami, 9 Cir., 176 F.2d 953 ; that many of the applicants were not yet 21 years of age when they renounced and hence were incapable of renouncing; and that each renunciation had been rescinded by each applicant. These…