Ex Parte Ah Fook
California Supreme Court
The steamer Japan sailed from the port of Hongkong, in China, and arrived at the port of San Francisco, in California, on the 24th day of August, 1864. By the statute of the State, a Commissioner of Immigration was appointed for each port within the State, and it was made his duty to visit each vessel arriving from a foreign port, and ascertain whether there were among the passengers persons, not citizens of the United States, who were lunatic, idiotic, deaf, dumb, blind,…
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The steamer Japan sailed from the port of Hongkong, in China, and arrived at the port of San Francisco, in California, on the 24th day of August, 1864. By the statute of the State, a Commissioner of Immigration was appointed for each port within the State, and it was made his duty to visit each vessel arriving from a foreign port, and ascertain whether there were among the passengers persons, not citizens of the United States, who were lunatic, idiotic, deaf, dumb, blind, crippled, infirm, or paupers likely to become a public charge, or convicted criminals, or lewd or debauched women, and if…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court, McKinstry, J.:
In response to the writ to him directed, the master of the steamship Japan, returns that on the arrival of. the ship in the harbor of San Francisco, she was boarded by the Commissioner of Immigration, who examined the persons named in the writ—who are Chinese women, and were passengers—and, on such examination, declared them to be lewd, debauched and abandoned women, and thereupon refused to permit them to land.
The Commissioner justifies by reference to Section 70 of the Amendments to the Political Code.
Whatever the grammatical errors found in the section, we think…
2Cited by10 opinions
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