An alien seaman who had entered the United States irregularly in
1923, but under the three-year limitation of the Immigration Act of
1917, was not subject to deportation, signed in 1929 as a member of
the crew of an American ship for a round-trip voyage to Germany.
Some time after his return, he was arrested for deportation as an
alien who had remained here in violation of the Act of 1924.
Held:
1. Upon his return in 1929, the alien came from a place outside
the United States within the meaning of the immigration laws, and
his arrival was an entry into this country notwithstanding he was a
member of the crew of an American ship which had made a round-trip
voyage. P.
287 U. S.
132.
2. That he entered without permission does not entitle him as an
alien seaman to more than the sixty days stay allowed by the
regulations. P.
287 U. S.
132.
3. The statutory duty of the master to bring back to the United
States a seaman who signs for a round-trip voyage could not make
his entry in 1929 lawful, nor confer on him the right to remain
here permanently. Pp.
287 U. S.
132-133.
4. The fact that he could not have been deported at the time he
signed for the round-trip voyage could not make his status upon
Page 287 U. S. 130
his return in 1929 that of an " immigrant previously lawfully
admitted to the United States who is returning from a temporary
visit abroad," and thus a nonquota immigrant within § 4 of the 1924
Act, since he was not lawfully admitted for permanent residence in
1923. P.
287 U. S.
133.
54 F.2d 1086 affirmed.
Certiorari, 285 U.S. 535, to review a judgment affirming a
judgment which dismissed a writ of habeas corpus to secure the
release of an alien in deportation proceedings under the
Immigration Act of 1924.
MR. JUSTICE ROBERTS delivered the opinion of the Court.
By writ of habeas corpus, petitioner challenged the legality of
his arrest for deportation as an alien alleged to have remained in
the United States in violation of the terms of § 14 of the
Immigration Act of 1924 (c. 190, 43 Stat. 153, 162). That section
provides:
"Any alien who at any time after entering the United States is
found . . . to have remained therein for a longer time than
permitted under this subchapter or regulations made thereunder
shall be taken into custody and deported. . . ."
The undisputed facts are that petitioner, a German citizen,
deserted his ship, the
Hansa, February 15, 1923, in the
port of New York, and remained in this country until March, 1929,
when he signed as a member of the crew of a vessel of United States
registry, the
America, for a voyage to Germany and return.
This vessel stayed in Germany two and a half days, but it does not
appear whether petitioner went ashore. He arrived in the
Page 287 U. S. 131
United States on the return voyage in April, 1929, and was
discharged from the ship, but was not examined by any immigration
officer, nor did he possess an immigration vise or pay a head tax.
On March 20, 1931, while working in Florida as a butcher, he was
arrested on a warrant charging that he had remained in the country
for a period longer than permitted by the Immigration Act of 1924
and the regulations thereunder. After hearing, an order of
deportation was made. On this showing, the District Court dismissed
the writ, and the Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.
The entry in 1923 was irregular, and petitioner was not entitled
to remain. [
Footnote 1] Under
the statute then in force, he was subject to be deported, but such
action could be taken only within three years of his entry.
[
Footnote 2] The Immigration
Act of 1924 did not alter the status of one who had unlawfully
entered the country or remained after the passage of the Act of
1917, [
Footnote 3] but
abolished the three-year period of
Page 287 U. S. 132
limitation only as to those entering after 1924. Section 14,
quoted supra;
Philippides v. Day, 283 U. S.
48. The petitioner was therefore entitled to invoke
immunity under the Act of 1917 unless he lost it by making the
voyage to Germany in 1929.
The question is whether, by so doing, he made a new entry into
the United States which left him amenable to the provisions of the
Act of 1924. The court below answered in the affirmative. [
Footnote 4] Other Circuit Courts of
Appeal have held the contrary. [
Footnote 5] In view of these conflicting decisions,
certiorari was granted.
The relator's arrival in the United States in April, 1929, was
an entry into this country notwithstanding he was a member of the
crew of an American ship which had made a round-trip voyage. He
came from a place outside the United States, and from a foreign
port or place, within the meaning of the immigration laws.
United States ex rel. Claussen v. Day, 279 U.
S. 398. While that case construed § 19 of the Act of
February 5, 1917, and the time limitation on deportation therein
contained, the decision as to what constitutes an entry is equally
conclusive in construing other sections of the immigration law.
That petitioner entered without permission does not entitle him
as an alien seaman to more than sixty days' stay in the United
States. His noncompliance with the regulations respecting such
seamen cannot confer upon him greater rights than if he had
satisfied their requirements.
Philippides v. Day,
supra.
The statutes requiring the master of a ship, under penalties, to
bring back to the United States a seaman who signs for a round-trip
voyage are said to make the entry
Page 287 U. S. 133
of April 1929, lawful. The argument, in substance based upon the
theory that an American vessel is American soil, was effectively
answered, as respects the requirements of the Immigration Acts, in
the
Claussen case,
supra. Irrespective of any
statutory duty to return the seaman to this country, the
petitioner's entry would have been lawful had he complied with the
provisions of statute and regulation for temporary sojourn as an
alien seaman. The obligation of the master to return him did not,
as contended, confer the right to remain here permanently.
If we are to disregard petitioner's status as an alien seaman,
the law required that he should have submitted himself to
inspection, should have produced an immigration visa, and paid a
head tax, if, as an immigrant, he desired to apply for citizenship.
[
Footnote 6] He did none of
these things, and, in this aspect, remained here in violation of
law.
The suggestion is made that, since the relator could not have
been deported after the expiration of three years from his original
entry in 1923, his status, when discharged as one of the crew of
the
America in 1929, was that of an "immigrant previously
lawfully admitted to the United States, who is returning from a
temporary visit abroad," and thus he was a nonquota immigrant
within § 4 of the Act of 1924. [
Footnote 7] But he was not lawfully admitted for permanent
residence in 1923, and his stay here cannot be converted into such
lawful residence by the mere fact that the then-applicable statute
limited the time within which deportation proceedings could be had.
United States ex rel. Georgias v. Day, 43 F.2d 917.
The judgment is
Affirmed.
[
Footnote 1]
Section 32 of the Act of February 5, 1917, c. 29, 39 Stat. 874,
895, then in force, but since repealed by the Immigration Act of
1924, provided:
"That no alien excluded from admission into the United States by
any law . . . and employed on board any vessel arriving in the
United States from any foreign port or place shall be permitted to
land in the United States, except temporarily for medical
treatment, or pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary
of Labor providing for the ultimate removal or deportation of such
alien from the United States. . . ."
[
Footnote 2]
Section 34 of the Act of February 5, 1917, c. 29, 39 Stat. 874,
896:
"Any alien seaman who shall land in a port of the United States
contrary to the provisions of this subchapter shall be deemed to be
unlawfully in the United States, and shall at any time within three
years thereafter, upon the warrant of the Secretary of Labor, be
taken into custody and brought before a board of special inquiry
for examination as to his qualifications for admission to the
United States, and, if not admitted, said alien seaman shall be
deported. . . ."
[
Footnote 3]
Section 20(d) of the Immigration Act of 1924, c.190, 43 Stat.
153, 165:
"Section 32 of the Immigration Act of 1917 is repealed, but
shall remain in force as to . . . all seamen, arriving in the
United States prior to the enactment of this Act."
[
Footnote 4]
United States ex rel. Stapf v. Corsi, 54 F.2d 1086.
[
Footnote 5]
Kirk v. U.S. ex rel. Lawreason, 24 F.2d 64;
Weedin
v. Banzo Okada, 2 F.2d 321;
Matsutaka v. Carr, 47
F.2d 601.
[
Footnote 6]
U.S.C. Tit. 8, §§ 132, 167(a), 202, 203, 204, 205, 208.
[
Footnote 7]
U.S.C. Tit. 8, § 204.