Barreiro v. McGrath

108 F. Supp. 685, 1952 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2345
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedDecember 4, 1952
DocketNo. 30916
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 108 F. Supp. 685 (Barreiro v. McGrath) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barreiro v. McGrath, 108 F. Supp. 685, 1952 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2345 (N.D. Cal. 1952).

Opinion

ROCHE, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff .filed on September 28, 1952, a complaint for Declaratory Judgment requesting that he be adjudged eligible for suspension of deportation, pursuant to the provisions of Title 8 United States Code Annotated, § 155, and that he be found eligible for United States Citizenship.

The record discloses the following pertinent facts: Plaintiff was born in Portugal on or about June 15, 1911, and is a citizen of that country. He stowed away aboard the Steamship “Anaconda” in the year 1930 and subsequently illegally entered the United States at Jersey City, New Jersey, on or about April 22, 1930.

At the time of entry plaintiff intended to seek work in the United States and to remain permanently. He has remained in this country since his illegal entry. On October 16, 1940, plaintiff registered with the Selective Service in Alameda County, California. Prior to this time the plaintiff made no effort to clarify his status in thi's country, nor does it appear that he would have ever made any ■ attempt except for the fact that the Selective Service Act, 50 U.S.C.A.Appendix, § 301 et seq., required every person of age to have a draft card in his possession. On May 9, 1941, he classified 1V-C by virtue of the fact that he had his employer request deferment on the grounds of essential worker on war materials. It was later determined that he was not that essential and in September 1942 he was reclassified 1-A. He then learned that he could receive a deferment if he were married. In the same month, but subsequently to the 1-A classification, he advised his draft board he intended to marry one Irene Sieza,' which he subsequently did on September 12, 1942. There were two children from this marriage: However, this did not change his status very long for shortly thereafter the law was passed drafting married men.

On June. 10, 1943, plaintiff was again reclassified 1V-C by virtue of his filing DSS form 301, which is an application of an alien for relief from military service. Plaintiff obtained the form from the draft board and took it home with him. Shortly thereafter he received an induction notice. He then had the form completed by a notary public, read it and signed it. He then sent it to the draft board and the induction notice was cancelled upon receipt of the form. Plaintiff in his many administrative board hearings has stated that he completed and filed said form because he was in the United States “illegally anyway and couldn’t become a citizen”. He made no attempt at any time to determine whether he could become a citizen and even after he learned the consequences of filing such form he never inquired of the draft board as to any way to be relieved from his act. However, he was informed that he could execute a form DSS 165. Such a form was an application for voluntary induction and would have had the effect of wiping out the previous form DSS 301. When asked if he would file such form, after some hesitation he stated he “didn’t know”. For one who wanted to enter the service as badly as the plaintiff now claims he did, this would have been his opportunity and there would now be no question of his motives in filing form DSS 301. Title 50 U.S.C.A. Appendix, § 303(a), states that upon filing such a form as DSS 301 any person who makes such application shall thereafter be debarred from becoming a citizen of the United States. (Emphasis the Court’s). Under Section 3(a) of the Selective Training and Service Act, the plaintiff became ineligible to citizenship, when he requested relief from military service by filing form DSS 301, and although he indicates his desire to withdraw the request, it cannot be done under the Act except, perhaps, by form DSS 165, stated above. As a person ineligible for citizenship he is inadmissible to the United States under Section 13(c) of the Immigration Act of 1924,. 8 U.S.C.A. § 213(c). Since the plaintiff is not eligible to reenter, nothing could be gained by granting the privilege of voluntary departure, and or pre-examination.

[687]*687Plaintiff seeks to avoid this result by contending that his DSS form 301 application was made out under mistake resulting from his lack of understanding of the form and alleged statements of the draft board at the time he requested the form. He further claims that his deportation would result in serious economic detriment to his wife and children, all of whom are citizens of the United States. He has attempted to show his good faith by his application to the Armed Services for enlistment. There is testimony of the plaintiff that he attempted to enter the service before he had filed such form, but the documentary evidence produced by the plaintiff shows his attempts to enlist subsequent to this litigation. Plaintiff further testified that his first attempts were in 1940 or 1941, he did not remember which, but when asked by the court again, he stated 1941. This being the case, all his attempts were made after he had registered for the draft in 1940: In all cases he was rejected because he was an alien and in the last attempts, which were in 1950, after the Korean conflict started and long after this litigation was in process, he was rejected also on the grounds of overage.

There are two issues before the Court. The first is whether the fact that plaintiff claimed exemption from military service as a Neutral Alien during the late war forever debars him from citizenship or suspension of deportation, even if, as alleged, made through mistake for which the draft board was responsible and that he thereafter withdrew the exemption and tried to enlist in the service.

There is the presumption that the draft board properly discharged its duties, United States v. Chemical Foundation, 272 Ü.S. 1, 47 S.€t. 1, 71 L.Ed. 131. The burden is on plaintiff to rebut this presumption and he has failed to meet this burden. The record is devoid of any evidence to support plaintiff’s contention that he filed his claim for exemption through mistake for which his draft board was wholly responsible. Plaintiff’s testimony gives some vague statements of what a clerk of the draft board had said to him about filing form 301 and even this testimony does not show that such statements as made’ were incorrect or misleading. The plaintiff took the form home with him, had a notary friend help him read it and fill it out, -and sent it back to the draft board over a week later. There was ample time for him to discover the consequences of such act. Neither during the course of the hearings nor subsequently on appeal to the Commissioner of Immigration did plaintiff claim “mistake” or that he had received “erroneous” advice from his draft board; his only ground was that he had made a “regrettable error in judgment”. Thus it.seems clear that the signing of the form was merely one more act in a series of efforts by the plaintiff to escape service in the Armed Forces.

The plaintiff cites the case of Machado v. McGrath, D.C.Cir., 193 F.2d 706, for the proposition that if the complaint alleges .“mistake” the person has a right to be heard. The alien in the Machado case was here under a valid visa and claimed mistake in signing the form as he was not able to fully understand the nature of the form because of his limited ability to read and write the English language and that he was under the impression he was claiming exemption on grounds of non residence and not neutral alienage. Here the facts are different.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Villarreal v. Horn
207 F. Supp. 3d 700 (S.D. Texas, 2016)
In re for Naturalization of Velasquez
139 F. Supp. 790 (S.D. New York, 1956)
Petition of Kutay
121 F. Supp. 537 (S.D. California, 1954)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
108 F. Supp. 685, 1952 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2345, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barreiro-v-mcgrath-cand-1952.