Letter from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury to I. A. Olmstead of Elmira, New York, in Response to a Request for Information on How to Bring a Chinese Student into the United States
2/20/1900
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In 1900 the Office of the Superintendent of Immigration, which had been established in the Department of the Treasury in 1891, became the chief agency responsible for implementing Federal regulations mandated by the Chinese exclusion laws. Both the Chinese Bureau within the Customs Service and the Chinese Division of the INS employed "Chinese" inspectors, people designated to enforce the Chinese exclusion laws. Immigration-related decisions made by these Federal officials were sometimes appealed to Federal courts, which also heard criminal cases involving Chinese alleged to be living in the United States illegally. This document is featured in "The Chinese Exclusion Act: Researching in the National Archives," available on iBooks.
This letter includes an enclosure to a letter from I. A. Olmstead to the Honorable Secretary of State John Hay requesting information on how to bring a Chinese student into the United States under the Chinese Exclusion Act.
This letter includes an enclosure to a letter from I. A. Olmstead to the Honorable Secretary of State John Hay requesting information on how to bring a Chinese student into the United States under the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Transcript
Mr. I.A. Olmstead,Elmira, N.Y.
Sir:
The Secretary of State has referred to this Department for answer your letter of the 13th instant in which you state that you desire to bring to this country a Chinese youth, 12 years old, for the purpose of educating him, and request to be informed what steps will be necessary to secure his admission as a student.
You are informed that Chinese students can be admitted to this country only upon the production of the certificate prescribed by Section 6, of the Act of May 6, 1882, as amended by
the Act of July 5, 1884, relating to the exclusion of Chinese; and that such certificate, which must set forth all the facts prescribed by the status, must be issued by the Government of the country in which said Chinese student now resides, and be viewed by the United States Consul in that country. The certificate should be presented to the Collector of Customs at the port of arrival, which officer is vested with the authority to determine the right of such Chinese person to admission, and whose decision is final unless reversed on appeal to the Secretary of the Treasury. A copy of the pamphlet containing the law and regulations relating to the exclusion of Chinese is herewith transmitted and the section of the law referred to may be found on page 15 thereof.
Respectfully yours,
Acting Secretary.
Hon John Hays
Sec of State
Kind Sir
The First Presbyterian Church of our city has for a number
of years looked after the “China boys” education and Sunday
School instruction, not an arrest or disturbance has ever
occurred among them.
We now desire to bring a bright boy, twelve years old, now in
mission school in China here to educate. Our reason for his being
educated here is that he may learn our methods by association
and then return to his native land and advance his people in
education and religion, in fact all things that he can toward
advancing his people in great reforms that they so much need.
Knowing that our laws are against their coming here as
laborer and not knowing the necessary steps to take to have you
issue the necessary papers for his admission as a student I write
that you may instruct us.
Thank you in advance for your trouble
I am,
I.A. Olmstead
This primary source comes from the Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
National Archives Identifier: 19086643
Full Citation: Letter from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury to I. A. Olmstead of Elmira, New York, in Response to a Request for Information on How to Bring a Chinese Student into the United States; 2/20/1900; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Record Group 85. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/letter-from-the-acting-secretary-of-the-treasury-to-i-a-olmstead-of-elmira-new-york-in-response-to-a-request-for-information-on-how-to-bring-a-chinese-student-into-the-united-states, April 20, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.