Siniscalchi v. Thomas
Siniscalchi v. Thomas
Opinion of the Court
(after stating the facts as above).
“It is well settled tliat officers of tlie government, to whom the determination of questions of this kind is entrusted under statutes like those governing these proceedings, are not bound by the rules of criminal procedure, nor by rules of evidence applied in the courts. It is not enough for a review of their decision on habeas corpus that there was no sworn testimony, or no record of the testimony or of the decision. No formal complaint or pleadings are required- The alien’s opportunity to be heard need not be upon any regular set occasion, nor according to the forms of judicial procedure. It may be such as will secure the prompt, vigorous action contemplated by Congress and appropriate to the nature of the case.”
While it is true that there is evidence showing that petitioner was in this country at the date of the conviction in Italy, yet this does not sbowr that he was not in Italy at the date of the homicide; and it is in vain to contend, in a case like this, that the portion of the record just pointed out in no wise tends to sustain the finding of the Secretary that petitioner landed in this country at some unknown port after February 4. 1909.
“The writ of habeas corpus, now under consideration, was not issued until October 24tb, the warrant of deportation having issued October 23d. In all of the time from October Gth to October 23d, no effort was made by the alien or his counsel to offer any evidence on the subject.”
If we have the right to disturb this finding, we are not warranted in doing so. Wong Hueng v. Elliot, 179 Fed. 111, 102 C. C. A. 408 (C. C. A. 9th Cir.).
The point urged that the portion of the act upon which the charge now under consideration is based infringes upon the state’s police power, and so is the exercise of a power not granted to the federal government, cannot be sustained. In Keller v. United States, 213 U. S. 138, 29 Sup. Ct. 470, 53 L. Ed. 737, 16 Ann. Cas. 1066, relied on by petitioner’s counsél, it was decided that the' portion of the act of 1907, which made it a felony to harbor in any house for the purpose of prostitution any alien woman within three years after her arrival in this country, was unconstitutional. The amendment of March 26,1910, made since the decision was rendered in Keller v. United States, contains a provision which changes the old offense of harboring prostitutes by forbidding the act when done in pursuance of an illegal importation; and this offense is highly penalized. It is provided later in the amended section that:
“Any alien * * * who shall receive, share in, or derive benefit from any part of the earnings of any prostitute * * * shall be deemed to be unlawfully within the United States and shall.be deported. * * * ”
The Keller Case arose under an indictment for committing the penalized offense of harboring alien prostitutes; while here we have to deal only with the question of deportation of an alien. In United States v. Williams, supra, Judge Holt stated a distinction between the Keller Case and the one then before him, which forcibly applies here. He said (183 Fed. 905):
“But the question whether a citizen in this country can be punished by federal law for establishing illicit relations with an alien woman after her arrival in this country is essentially different from the question whether such alien woman can be excluded by the federal law of the country.”
See, also, United States v. Westman (D. C.) 182 Fed. 1017; United States v. Krsteff (D. C.) 185 Fed. 201, 205; United States v. Bitty, 208 U. S. 393, 28 Sup. Ct. 396, 52 L. Ed. 543.
We hold that the executive department obtained jurisdiction to pass upon the question of deportation of petitioner, and that there was no such irregularity in the proceedings as to warrant judicial intervention.
The judgment of the court below is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- SINISCALCHI v. THOMAS. Immigration Inspector
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- 24 cases
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- Syllabus
- 1. Alievs (§ 54*)—Deportation—Nature op Proceedings. Proceedings for the deportation of an alien under the immigration statutes aro in no proper sense a trial for a crime or offense nor. governed by tlie rules of such trials as to pleadings or evidence. [Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Aliens, Cent. Dig. § 112; Dec. Dig. § 51.*] 2. Aliens (§ 54*)—Deportation—Sufficiency op Evidencio. A certificate from a court of his native country showing that an alien was convicted of rape is sufficient to sustain a finding that he was convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, which excludes him from entry into, or the right, to remain in, the United States under Immigration Act Feb. 20, 1907, e. 1134, §. 2, 34 Stat. 898 (U. S. Comp. St. Supp. 1909, p. 448), regardless of the length of the sentence imposed. [Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Aliens, Cent. Dig. § 112; Dec. Dig. § 54.*] 3. Aliens (§ 54*)—Right of Deportation—Three Years’ Limitation—Effect of Previous Residence. Where an alien who has been a resident of the United States leaves it, even for a temporary purpose, and returns, the power of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to deport him under Act Eel). 20, 1907, e. 1134, § 21, 34 Stat. 905 (U. S. Comp. St. Supp. 1909, p. 459), exists for three years after his last entry. [Ed. Note.—Eor other cases, see Aliens, Gent. Dig. § 112; Dee. Dig. § 54.*] 4. Aliens (§ 54*)-—Deportation—Grounds and Hearing Thereon. That a warrant’ of deportation of an alien was based in part on a fact not charged in the warrant of arrest is not a fatal objection, where it apjiears that the alien was given a fair hearing on the charge. [Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Aliens, Cent. Dig. § 112; Dee. Dig. § 54.*] 5. Aliens (§ 40*)—Deportation—Constitutionality and Construction of Statute. The provision of section 3 of Immigration Act Feb. 20, 1907, e. 1134, 34 Stat. 899 (U. S. Comp. St. Supp. 1909, p. 450), as amended by Act March 26, 1910, e. 128, § 2, 36 Stat. 264, that “any alien * * * who shall receive, share in or derive benefit from any part of the earnings of any prostitute * * * shall be deemed to be unlawfully within the United States and shall be deported,’-’ is within the powers of Congress over immigration, and is not unconstitutional as an infringement on the police power of the state; nor is there any limitation of the time within which an alien may he deported on such ground to three years after entry as under the original act. [Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Aliens, Cent. Dig. § 100; Dee. Dig. § 40.*] 6. Aliens (§ 53*)—Deportation—Legality of Proceedings. If it appears that an alien was in this country in violation of the immigration laws, an abuse of discretion on the part of the immigration authorities cannot be predicated of their discharge of official duty by deporting him merely because the government of the country of which he is a subject desired and requested his return thereto. [Ed. Note.-—For other eases, see Aliens, Cent. Dig. § 112; Dec. Dig. § 53.*]