Ex parte Cheung Sum Shee

These cases come before the court on petitions for writs of habeas corpus by or on behalf of certain Chinese women and children seeking to enter the United States for the first time, in case No. 18416 as the wives and children of domiciled Chinese merchants, or in case numbered 18417 as alien Chinese wives of citizens of the United States of Chinese descent. They present no consular visé issued under the provisions of the Immigration Act of 1924 ( 43 Stat. 153 ), but base their claim to be entitled to enter this country upon their status as such Chinese wives or children. All of them were denied admission by the Commissioner of Immigration at the port of San Francisco upon the ground that, being persons ineligible to citizenship and not coming within any of the exceptions contained in said Immigration Act, they were excluded by its terms. Upon appeal to the Secretary of Labor, the decision of the Commissioner was upheld. In case No. 18416, upon the appeal of Cheung Sum Shee (wife) and Cheung Wai Mun (minor child), the ground of the Secretary’s ruling is stated as follows:

“Neither the mercantile status of the husband and father, nor the applicants’ relationship to him, has been…