Ex parte Greaves

Two separate petitions for writs of ha-beas corpus having been presented to the court, the government demurs to each of. them. As they present the same questions, they will be considered together.

The petitioners, Rebecca I. Greaves and Phyllis S. Greaves, are mother and daughter. The mother is now over SO years of age and the daughter in the early 20’s. The former was born in England, the latter in Canada, and neither is a citizen of the United States. In April, 1913, they arrived at New York in the Mauretania from Liverpool, and were landed without inspection, because of the statement made by the mother that she was a citizen of 'the United States. This statement was based upon the fact that her deceased husband had declared his intention to become a citizen, although never having completed his naturalization. Whether this statement was made for the purpose of deceiving the immigration officers, or because Mrs. Greaves was honestly mistaken in the belief that she was a citizen, is a question much discussed, but absolutely immaterial. There is testimony in the record that she told Richardson, one of the witnesses, “that when she came to this country on different occasions she…