Yong Yung See v. United States

This is an appeal from an order of the District Court for Honolulu discharging a writ of habeas corpus brought by a Chinese alleging himself to be a natural-born citizen of the United States, illegally detained by the Honolulu immigration authorities. His petition shows that in 1933 he left the Islands for China, and on his return in 1936 the Board of Inquiry denied him permission to enter, and ordered him returned to China.

The. record shows that in 1922 petitioner was admitted at Honolulu as a native-born citizen, who left for China in 1909 at the age of 5 years. In 1933, contemplating a temporary absence from the United States, *701 he applied for a “Certificate of Citizenship —Hawaiian Islands,” a local form of return certificate, giving in support of his application the same evidence on which he had been admitted in 1922. The Honolulu authorities refused this certificate on the ground that other Chinese had claimed entry as sons of the same father. On appeal, however, their determination was reversed and the certificate issued to the applicant. He then left for China.

Three years later he returned and sought entry and was held for hearing by the Board of Inquiry. They…