United States v. Li Chiong

(after stating the facts as above). The decision of the case on appeal is ruled by Lee Lung v. Patterson, 186 U. S. 168 , 22 Sup. Ct. 795, 46 L. Ed. 1108 . In that case the court quoted and adopted the language of the District Court in Re Lee Lung, 102 Fed. 132, 134 , as follows:

Answering the argument that the statute makes such a certificate evidence which the immigration officers have no power to disregard, the court said:

Applying the doctrine of that case, there is no room to question the authority of the immigration officers to do as they did in this case, upon consideration of all the testimony, reject the evidence of the certificate notwithstanding that by an act of Congress it was made prima facie evidence of the right of the applicant to land in the United States, and to decide as they did, to deny controlling effect to evidence which the laws of Congress have provided should be but prima facie sufficient to establish the right to land.

It follows that the judgment of the court below must be reversed, and the cause remanded, with instructions to remand the appellee to the custody of the officers from whom he was taken.