Petition of Joe Cahill, for a Writ of Habeas Corpus

Joe Cahill, a British citizen holding a valid Irish passport and a visa permitting entry into the United States, boarded an airplane in Dublin, Ireland, on September 1, 1971, bound for the United States. Upon his arrival at New York’s Kennedy Airport, immigration officers informed him that his visa had been revoked by the Secretary of State and detained him pending a determination of his alien status. Although an exclusion hearing before a Special Inquiry Officer was scheduled for 9:00 A.M., September 2, counsel for Cahill requested and was granted an adjournment until September 7.

Counsel for…