United States v. Wong Kim Ark

169 U.S. 649 (1898)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

P was born in 1873 in San Francisco. His father and mother were persons of Chinese descent and subjects of the Emperor of China; they were at the time of his birth domiciled residents of the United States, having previously established and still enjoying a permanent domicil and residence in San Francisco. The parents continued to reside in the United States until 1890 when they departed for China. P has had but one residence in California claiming to be a citizen of the United States. Neither he, nor his parents acting for him, ever renounced his allegiance to the United States or did or committed any act or thing to exclude him therefrom. In 1890 P departed for China on a temporary visit and with the intention of returning to the United States. On his return, he was permitted by the collector of customs to enter the United States, upon the sole ground that he was a native-born citizen of the United States. P remained in the United States, claiming to be a citizen until 1894 when he departed for China on a temporary visit and with the intention of returning to the United States. When he returned in August 1895 and applied to the collector of customs for permission to land he was denied permission, upon the sole ground that he was not a citizen of the United States. D claimed that P was not a U.S. citizen because Congress had passed the Chinese Exclusion Acts, which prohibited Chinese people who were not United States citizens from entering the country. P brought suit to obtain entrance to the country. The district court found for P and D appealed.