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Last Friday was our third and final trip to the national archive in DC. I personally wanted to make sure that I not only was obtaining as much information as possible but that I was also ensuring that I fully understood the files that I had already discovered to be useful. Thus, I asked for some files to be pulled a second time, so that I could take another look at them after obtaining contextual information from my secondary research.

For example, the file on Dr. Hume, which I mentioned in my last post, was no longer terribly shocking, as I had learned that medical examiners often made excuses to exclude certain persons from entry (but it’s still unclear even after a second read if Hume was doing this on purpose). Diagnosis discrepancies were not terribly common, however, so Hume remains a special case, in addition to another doctor, Dr. Wright, who’s file was found by another member of the group. He was found to be delivering clean bills of health to those who were actually ill, allowing them entry when another examiner would have excluded them.[1] Unsurprisingly, Dr. Wright was fired for this misdiagnosis in 1912, though he was able to continue practicing medicine at the hospital he also worked at. Hume, on the other hand, faced little to no repercussions; a sternly worded letter from the surgeon-general and a period of supervision by another examiner but held the position of Assistant Quarantine Surgeon until his death in 1939 when he was hit by a truck.[2] This is almost definitely due to Hume falsely excluding rather than falsely allowing entry. I had not realized prior to this that examiners at ports of entry actually did not work for the Immigration Service, but rather for the Department of Public Health.[3] I’m not sure how this different chain of command would have affected the examinations, but it is definitely one more thing to look into.

Also, another aspect I had never connected was the refugee crisis surrounding the Mexican Revolution/Civil War around 1914, which is right in the time period we are looking at for El Paso. I was given three massive boxes full of files pertaining to Mexican emigrants, looking to get away from the conflict in Texas. This influx was a strain on the administrative side of El Paso and the Immigration Service overall, with letters between the Secretary of War, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor and the Supervising Inspector at El Paso.[4] While I lacked the time to fully read through all of these files, it did create a connection to international relations that I was previously unaware of. Time to start pulling everything together for the final product

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[1] Inconsistency, file 53,431-025 Accession E9, subject correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington D.C).

[2] Texas Department of Health, “Death Certificate for Lea Hume,” July 28, 1939.

[3]  More Experienced for Mexican Border, file 53,511-003 accession E9, subject correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington D.C).

[4] File 53,108-071 , file 53,511-003 accession E9, subject correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington D.C)

Friday 15^th November marked our research excursion to the National Archives in Washington D.C. Much like the second trip I found a wealth information, if not more than last time, that could have a potential use in our final project for this class. Perhaps the most remarkable part of my findings was that I found no successful cases of admittance to the United States following habeas corpus proceedings being initiated by Chinese immigrants following their initial attempts to enter the US through Angel Island. I researched five cases overall but I will include three of the most interesting and pertinent to our area of study.

The first case that I went through was concerning the appeal of fifteen-year-old boy by the name of Loowing Hee trying to enter the US as a son of a merchant, and group not subject to the various exclusionary policies exclusively aimed at Chinese immigrants. The case was more than likely an example of a paper son, as Hee’s alleged Father, whose status as a merchant was confirmed, made four trips back to China between 1882 and 1924 and upon returning to the US claimed that he had a different number of children each time. Claiming that he had two sons and a daughter when interviewed in 1911, then in 1918 claiming four sons and no daughter. These discrepancies in prior testimonies from the Father among issues such as different claims about when Hee finished school and what domestic animals were kept in the family home lead to the rejection of Hee’s appeal and subsequent return to China. [1]

The second case was particularly interesting to me, as it regarded a young man, by the name of whom was trying to emigrate to the US as the son or daughter of a merchant but that of a US citizen, unlike the cases which I most commonly analysed. His alleged Father left for China and 1915, returning in 1917 and then again in 1921 and returning in 1923 with his ‘son’ Gin Guey Look, aged 14. Look received supporting testimonies’ from two local Chinese immigrants but as is common with many case of this ilk, the number of discrepancies in them were numerous and so much so in this specific case that the investigators did not need to use all of them as; “the enumeration of a few will throw light upon the case”. The most remarkable part of this case was that I came across was for the testimony for Guey that was given by a white man used a completely different from that used to take the testimony of a Chinese man. It was a much different tone and asked different questions in terms of the depth and length. [2}

The third case of particular note that I came across appears to be one of human trafficking for the purposes of prostitution, but this isn’t mentioned in the report. It concerned the appeal of a women by the name of Hom Shee aged 20. Shee had supposedly married, a man by the name of Dea Ah Sing aged 40, back in China before attempting to come to the US. As is common with many of these cases there was too many conflicting areas in their testimonies’ and the lack of ability to establish their relationship and this instance marriage, was legitimate and thus gave Shee the right to immigrate to the United States. [3]

Files Used 

[1] Loowing Hee. File 55245/53, accession E9, subject correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington D.C). 

[2]  Gin Guey Look, File 55392/122, accession E9, subject correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington D.C).

[3] Hom Shee, File 55245/839, accession E9, subject correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington D.C). 

Habeas Corpus cases deal with various means of deportation, in particular it deals with issues that are illegal under law, such as prostitution. Through my research at the archives, I found numerous cases where the subject at question was guilty of housing prostitutes or the committing the act of prostitution. In file number 53,678-163, Wong Sun Shee, alias Wong Sam, was found in violation of the Act of Congress approved on February 20, 1907 to which was found receiving, sharing in, and deriving the benefits from the earnings of a prostitute. With this ruling, she was to be deported back to China. Her daughter, Louie Ngo, completes an affidavit in hopes that the Department of Labor will reconsider her mother’s deportation. She states that her mother is in poor health; has no relatives or friends in China; and that her village has been destroyed by flood. As well, if she was to return to China, she will likely perish due to her ill health.  Along with her daughter’s affidavit, numerous others were submitted by local Chinese firms and individual Chinese and whites on her behalf.

            Wong Sun Shee was taking into custody after a raid had been done on a house of prostitution in San Francisco. She was then further charged with holding certain Chinese girls in peonage. Wong Sun Shee denied that she shared the earnings of these Chinese girls and that she was only the housekeeper and knew nothing of their doings. However, one of the girls, Lee Choy Lin, who was later deported to China, stated that Wong Sun Shee held her in slavery and forced her into practicing prostitution to which she received $250 to $300 a month from them. Lee Choy Lin stated that she had been smuggled in on the Manchuria ship in 1909 and was taken to this house in Chinatown to which she was made to practice prostitution. 

            Her attorney pleads for leniency because Wong Sun Shee is a mother and grandmother of numerous United States citizens. As well she is old women is who is weak physically and mentally. It was with this testimony that her warrant for deportation was sustained and that she was to be deported back to China at the Government’s expense. 

An important figure at this time that supported Chinese immigrant women who fell victim to bondage and prostitution was Donaldina Cameron. She was a protestant missionary who worked at the Mission Home in San Francisco. Mission Home provided these victims a safe haven as well as provided them with schooling, bible study, and domestic training. Through her work at Mission Home, Donaldina fought to save these women from slavery in Chinatown. Through her career, she saved roughly 2,000 to 3,000 girls from slavery. It is important to include her in this analysis on prostitution because it shows the other side of the law. As in, it shows the people who were trying to save these people rather than getting them deported from the United States.

Commissioner General of Immigration, Washington D.C. March 16, 1916, File 53,678-163, accession E9, Subject Correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington, DC). 

Kamiya, Gary. “The Woman Who Fought Chinatown Sex Slavery for Decades.” San Francisco Chronicle, February 2, 2018. Accessed November 21, 2019. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/The-woman-who-fought-Chinatown-sex-slavery-for-12547791.php

A majority of the case files looked at were ones on minor sons coming to the United States to catch up with their fathers and often help in their fathers business. More likely than not, these cases are about paper sons. In the case of Chin Wah Cheow, he was a 16 year old son of a merchant coming in and had a previously landed brother and the translator found multiple discrepancies that lead to the Chinese Consul General recommending denial and protesting against the case going up in the courts instead of just leading to his deportation.[1] Into looking at Cheow’s status, on Ancestry.com there is a draft card that lists a Chin Chew who was born in Canton, China living in San Francisco.[2]  Chew was sixteen when he entered the United States so he would have been born in 1895 which is the same year that Chin Chew listed as his birth year in 1942. The reasoning for the name change could have been to Americanize the original name.

 Contrasting Cheow’s story, Jew Wing Dong who was also a minor of a domiciled merchant, instead of questioning the authenticity of the story Dong had more support. The Chinese Consul General believed that the applicant was eligible for entry and that the relationship between the minor and the alleged father was true and wrote multiple times to Washington D.C. in support of his acceptance.[3] Jew Wing Dong noted in the historical record in an Chinese Arrival list for the Vessel Mongolia. In looking into his father, Jew Him, looking into his documentation in the United States. It is possible his father was noted in the record as Him Young Jew who was documented in the record multiple times coming in and out of the port of San Francisco and was a laborer. With the dates found in the records for Him Young Jew, it is possible that he is the father of Jew Wing Dong due to the times that he is entering and existing the country.[4]

            Out of all of the stories read, there were only two that differentiated from minor’s coming to the United States. In the first one, it was a father and his son coming to the United States but were rejected for medical reasons. This case was particularly interesting because most of the files had been pulled and all that was left in the file was telegrams.[5] The other case that differentiated was the case of Low Soy Chuen. He was a native born citizen born in San Francisco and he went to China for the first time but the INS agents did not believe that he was a U.S. citizen which lead to him fighting the decision in the courts.[6] Chuen’s file was one of the biggest files that I looked at due to the amount of witnesses that were interviewed to prove that Chuen was a native born U.S. citizen.

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[1] Chin Wah Cheow. File 53201/42, accession E9, subject correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington, D.C).

[2]Chin Chew. Registration Card #99. U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942. (National Archives, Washington D.C.)

[3] Jew Wing Dong. File 53201/41, accession E9, subject correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington, D.C).

[4] Him Young Jew. NARA Series M1413 (Roll 03), 1883 Sep 27-1884 Jan 15. (National Archives, Washington, D.C.).

[5] Quon Moon Bo. File 55188/148, accession E9, subject correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington, D.C).

[6] Low Soy Chuen. File 55188/161, accession E9, subject correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington, D.C).

This Friday, I went on my second trip to the National archives in order to research my group topic for Immigration history class In between the two trips, the topic of the group project had changed, as it switched from the broader topic of the workings of Angel island and the disparities between the treatment of the Chinese and the Japanese (in terms of medical treatment and interrogations) to the narrower topic of Habeas Corpus and deportation.  Due to me, not emailing the professor my research number beforehand; I had to wait for the staff to pull the immigrations papers that I asked for. When I finally got my papers at 3:00; I started to comb over them and write the information down on my computer; instead of using the must faster method of taking pictures on my phone; because I was saving my phone battery for my trip to Philadelphia. During my look at the immigration papers, I found a lot of appeals from either son of merchants or Chinese Americans who can here before the Chinese exclusion act.  I also found a lot of papers about Asian children that arrived either unsupervised or with their parents into the port of San Francisco and were able to enter the United States.  Here are some examples of the records:

54790/57

Ting Chuck Fan was 63 years old when he arrived in America as a merchant of the firm of Lun Sing & CO. He was detained because the Bureau was unable to find his name on the partnership of the firm, He arrived in America multiple times in the past, but law changed after the last time he left the US. *(There was a need for pre-investigation of witnesses and merchants) This was also compounded on the fact that most his witnesses were put on a “blacklist” (Does not exist). He was later released .[1]

54790/64

Tom Wing Sing came on SS Nile and was the son of Citizen. He was initially denied for not satisfy evidence as to claimed relationship as there was a Disparity in the testimony of the immigrants (use of Burial grounds and whether or not he attended school) [2]

54790/69

Wong Kee claimed to be a merchant’s son but was denied due to lack of evidence and disparities in his

Testimony (such as birth date, last time he saw father, if his father was even in the United States ) was thought to have committed fraud.[3]
54072/3

Kimoto Ohta was a girl of sixteen from China who came to America in order to stay with her father, she was admitted into the United states after she was found out by the review board as a sound and prominent individual. [4]

54072/21

Love Ceon Chong was a merchant who came to the United States February 8^th 1928 and was deported June 28 1916 , but was able to file for appeal for a return certificate was denied [5]

54072/40

Hisa Ito was a Japanese photo bride who arrived on April 7, 1916, but was detained of trachoma, and was able to appeal for a rehearing for consideration for hospital treatment, it is unknown whether or not she got her treatment. [6]

All these records could help my group understand the judicial concept of Habeas Corpus and how it can apply to Asian immigrants. Another benefit that these records can apply to the project is the different between the Japanese and the Chinese experience of the Appeal system. The records of the children that I found can also reveal to the rest of the group, how the appeal court in Washington was lenient on children.   Some of these records also reveal a bias or an unwellness among the staff of angel island to accept any Chinese or Japanese immigrants. Another thing about the records that I noticed is that the interrogation questions reveal a need for detail among the staff of the angel island, as these people like to know about every detail of the house and village that the Chinese immigrant used to live in.  This is because; as was revealed on the angel island movie, the Chinese did not record where people lived at the time. Another part of that movie that I was reminded of when I went through the records was the part about paper sons and picture brides.

1.Commisioner of Immigration, letter, San Francisco, California, File: 54790/57

Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, (National Archives, Washington D.C.)

2. Commissioner of Immigration, letter, San Francisco, California, File: 54790/64

Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, (National Archives, Washington D.C.)

3. Commissioner of Immigration, letter, San Francisco, California, File: 54790/69

Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, (National Archives, Washington D.C.)

4.Commisioner of Immigration, letter, San Francisco, California, September 30, 1915, File: 54072/3

Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, (National Archives, Washington D.C.)

5. Commissioner of Immigration, letter, San Francisco, California, July 1, 1916, File: 54072/21, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, (National Archives, Washington D.C.)

6. . Commissioner of Immigration, letter, San Francisco, California, April 4, 1916, File: 54072/40

Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, (National Archives, Washington D.C.)

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Sean Thomas

For all intents and purposes, this second trip to the National Archives was much more successful then the first in terms of the number of useful documents that I was able to find. Compared to the first time, I was able to go through documents much more quickly and found the information I was looking for with less effort. One of the files that I found which was relevant to our group’s topic was about a man named Geronimo Campo. Geronimo was a Mexican immigrant to the United States who lived here legally for four years. However, he was arrested on charges of Burglary in 1920, during which time he received a medical examination which showed he had syphilis. What is interesting about this file is that while committing burglary within five years of immigrating to the US would usually be enough of a reason to deport someone, in this case the officials involved at least seemed to be alright with just giving him one to two years of jail time. What appears to be the main reason for Geronimo’s deportation was the fact that he had syphilis, which he claims he contracted after arriving in the US. Although it is not right to make claims based on only one case file, what this one in particular indicates is that at least for some immigration officers, being afflicted by syphilis is a worse crime then burglary.  

Assistant Secretary of Labor, El Paso, TX., Commisioner of Immigration, New Orleans, LA., May 29, 1920, File 54,808-97, accession E9, Subject Correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington, DC).

This week while researching I discovered a file regarding a South Asian who INS was attempting to deport. The immigrant, named Harry Singh who landed in Philadelphia, PA,  on the 31st of January, 1923. Harry Singh’s case is interesting because upon landing he was taken to the hospital for “chronic suppurtive ottis media and chronic mastoiditis of the left ear, associated with severe pain in the head suggestive of intracranial complications.” The file regarding H. Singh, therefore, contains a series of letters back and forth between the INS office and H. Singh’s doctor, J. Clarence Keeler. The letters also concerned a bond to be furnished to ensure that H. Singh will not attempt to flee after leaving the hospital. Frustratingly, the file lacks anything other than the letters between the INS office and the doctor so it is difficult to tell if there was an appeal on the behalf of H. Singh for him to remain after he had recovered or any other result. The file does end with a document certifying that H. Singh has left the U.S.A. but there are no other documents regarding the case between when the doctor appealed for him to remain for treatment and recovery and when he left. Because there are no court recordings or other records of H. Singh’s arrival it is difficult to tell if he came to the U.S.A. seeking treatment, if he had been injured as a sailor and only wished to stay until he had healed, or if the entire ‘injury’ was a fabrication to allow him to sneak into the U.S.A. with the help of Dr. Keeler. There is also no record of who paid for H. Singh’s bonds, whether it be a kind benefactor, H. Singh himself, or a shipping company. Interestingly, this case occurs just a year before the National Origins Act is signed. The timeframe here is interesting because would H. Singh have arrived just a year later he might not even have been able to obtain medical attention from a landside doctor. Key here is also the port of entry; H. Singh did not enter one of the larger ports for immigrants, such as Angel Island or Ellis Island, hinting that perhaps he was not truly an immigrant but just happened to have to come ashore. In all, this file raises more questions than answers but provides an interesting look at the transitory nature of some of the South Asian immigrants/visitors to the U.S.A..

On our second day at the archives I was tasked to find a specific record on Roelof Bakker. The interesting thing about Roelof Bakker was that was not his real name; his real name was Isadore Kolb. The files contained many letters from the Kolb family and different perspectives on why this alien was deported to Tampico, Mexico.

         The Kolb family immigrated to the United States from Hungary in 1913 and were living in New York. Mentioned in one document, it was said that Isadore Kolb had fled America to Mexico, to avoid the Draft Act that he was registered under. While in Mexico he purchased a passport that belonged to a Dutchman by the name of Roelof Bakker and tried to reenter the United States after not being able to find employment in Mexico. He was arrested and it was soon figured out that he was not Roelof Bakker, but instead Isadore Kolb. His sister, Cyrus Kolb, tried to argue that her brother traveled the country but then fled to Mexico after a dispute with his father over religious views. The questionnaire for the Draft Act was delivered to her and he was not there to receive it, thus he was charged with violation of section 3, title 9 of the Espionage act. Once he was arrested from trying to reenter the United States, the question was to figure out whether or not he was from Holland, like the passport said, or if he was from Hungary, which was what his family was saying. During that time, he was posted for bail at $500 and was allowed to work during the investigation.

         While this alien was from New York, copies of these files were sent to the port of El Paso due to the possible return of this alien after his year of being deported. Since he came through from Mexico after he fled, he was deported back to Mexico. He was given the chance to reenter the United States a year after his deportation temporarily but permanently would have had to be decided at a later date. It is unclear if the alien came back after his probation.

Immigrant Inspector, Ellis Island, NY, to Commissioner of Immigration, Ellis Island, NY, February 5, 1919, File 54395/66, Subject Correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington, DC).

The second trip to the National Archives proved to be more successful than our first. Our group was able to prioritize our files better. This organization led to wonderful discoveries about the medical experiences of immigrants entering through El Paso’s immigration station. I learned that El Paso’s immigration station counted 5,000 individuals crossing the border daily. It stated 3,000 inspections occurred daily. [1] El Paso was unable to handle this massive number of immigrants entering through their ports and required more individuals. Of these immigrants inspected, I only found one Chinese man allowed to enter the United States through El Paso. Wong Fook Gem entered the United States with Syphilis on the assumption he conducted all his business with an escort.[2]  Wong is the first individual of Chinese descent that I found could enter through El Paso with a medical condition that was excludable.

I found information on two hospitals that treated sick or diseased immigrants. These two hospitals treated immigrants differently. The Calexico hospital was only allowed to treat patients during normal business hours. This hospital was also required to pay bonds to treat aliens or immigrants.[3] The El Centro hospital did not have to follow the same requirements.  Many Mexican aliens deported through El Paso got deported for contracting excludable diseases, making them persons likely to become a public charge (LPC). I found multiple individuals who seemed to get injured or went insane, resulting in deportation due to their injuries making them an LPC status. This trip has provided me with clues as to the uses of Medical Examinations and the ability of medical examiners to deport those who got through immigration with medical conditions and got deported afterward.

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[1] File 55608-593, accession E9, Subject Correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington, DC)

[2] File 55,740-196, accession E9, Subject Correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington, DC)

[3] File 55608-458 accession E9, Subject Correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington, DC)

On the second trip we took to the National Archives, I had much more success than last time. One particular file of interest was on J.W. Tappan, the chief medical examiner at El Paso. It seems to be an extensive personnel record that includes details about him being dispatched to Eagle Pass to investigate a misdiagnosis issue—a Doctor Hume was apparently diagnosing healthy people with Trachoma. Sumner also came across this same incident; if we were able to find more on this it could be an excellent case study. As of right now we don’t have any evidence of whether the misdiagnoses were accidental or malicious (the files we have are from before Tappan’s visit to Eagle Pass, before he could actually investigate); either way it could provide useful data. In the event that it was accidental, we could glean some knowledge about the evolving nature of medical tests—Sumner’s file mentioned something about how it might be necessary to administer different tests, since Hume’s tests were returning false positives. If it was malicious, it could provide details on how nativism negatively affected immigrants. Either way it is evidence that false positives occurred. If it was malicious I suspect that we might not find much more on the subject; preliminary research on Hume suggests that he held his position at Eagle Pass until his death, so he wasn’t punished for anything, and it is impossible to prove intent without confession. The box that this file came from also has a great deal of other files on doctors working along the border, so it might be worth pulling again to potentially provide a more holistic understanding of medical examinations. 

Citation for File of Interest:

Comissioner-General, Washington, DC, to Surgeon General, Washington, DC, July 23, 1912, File 51836/14, Subject Correspondence, 1906-1932, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives, Washington, DC).