Statement in Opposition to the Application for the Writ of Habeas Corpus of Wong Kim Ark
11/11/1895
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This document is a statement from Henry S. Foote, an attorney in the Northern District of California to the U.S. District Court of Northern California. Foote claimed that Wong Kim Ark should be detained on a ship or returned to China as he was not protected under the Chinese Exclusion Act. Foote stated that while Wong Kim Ark was born in the United States, he was a subject of the Chinese emperor and a member of the laboring class, and as such he was not entitled to property in, or admittance into, the United States.
Wong Kim Ark was born in San Francisco in 1873. In 1894, Wong went to China for a visit. He returned to the United States in August 1895, but was denied entry by the San Francisco Collector of Customs on the claim that, although born at 751 Sacramento Street in San Francisco, Wong was not a citizen.
Wong appealed for judicial review of this decision by executive branch immigration officials. From the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, his case went through the Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court. The precedent-setting final ruling was that U.S.-born descendants of immigrants could not be denied citizenship, regardless of their ethnicity or the nationality of their ancestors.
Wong Kim Ark was born in San Francisco in 1873. In 1894, Wong went to China for a visit. He returned to the United States in August 1895, but was denied entry by the San Francisco Collector of Customs on the claim that, although born at 751 Sacramento Street in San Francisco, Wong was not a citizen.
Wong appealed for judicial review of this decision by executive branch immigration officials. From the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, his case went through the Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court. The precedent-setting final ruling was that U.S.-born descendants of immigrants could not be denied citizenship, regardless of their ethnicity or the nationality of their ancestors.
This primary source comes from the Records of District Courts of the United States.
National Archives Identifier: 18556180
Full Citation: Statement in Opposition to the Application for the Writ of Habeas Corpus of Wong Kim Ark; 11/11/1895; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/opposition-application-wong-kim-ark, March 28, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.