In re Wong Sie Lim

71 F. Supp. 84, 1947 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2672
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMarch 3, 1947
DocketNo. 8515-M
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 71 F. Supp. 84 (In re Wong Sie Lim) 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
In re Wong Sie Lim, 71 F. Supp. 84, 1947 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2672 (N.D. Cal. 1947).

Opinion

GOODMAN, District Judge.

The petitioner, Wong Sie Lim, is a 22 year old male native of China, who seeks citizenship under the special provisions of Section 701 of the Nationality Act of 1940 as amended, 8 U.S.C.A. § 1001. The petitioner first entered the United States illegally on April 19, 1942. He was subsequently apprehended by the Immigration-Officers and on July 16, 1943, was ordered deported from the United States. However, due to war time conditions the government permitted petitioner to remain, under bond, in the United States. During that period and on August 28, 1944, he was inducted into the United States Army. On December 19, 1944, he was discharged from the army. Such duties as he performed during the period of approximately three and one half months of service in the army, were wholly within the continental United States. On May 2, 1945, he was deported from the United States. Subsequently, and on December 3, 1945, he was lawfully admitted for permanent residence. By his petition now before the Court, he seeks the benefits of Section 701 as amended by the Act of Dec. 22, 1944, c. 662, Sec. 1, 58 Stat. 886, 8 U.S.C.A. § 1001. The amended section reads as follows:

“Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 703 and 726 of this title, any person not a citizen, regardless of age, who has served or hereafter serves honorably in the military or naval forces of the United States during the present war and who shall have been at the time of his enlistment or induction a resident thereof and who (a) was lawfully admitted into the United States, including its Territories and possessions, or (b) having entered the United States, including its Territories and possessions, prior to September 1, 1943, being unable to establish lawful admission into the United States serves honorably in such forces beyond the continental limits of the United States or has so served may be naturalized upon compliance with all the requirements of the naturalization laws except (1) no declaration of intention, no certificate of arrival that for those described in group (b) hereof, and no period of residence within the United States or any State shall be required * * (Italics supplied.)

[85]*85Petitioner contends that, having now (since his discharge from the army and subsequent deportation) been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence, he is eligible for citizenship, despite the fact that his approximate three and one-half months service in the United .States Army was in continental United States and not overseas. In this conten"tion he is supported by the Naturalization “:Service, through the designated Examiner, ■which means that the Commissioner of Naturalization and Immigration recom-mends his naturalization. The petitioner .and the Commissioner both urge that there is ambiguity in Section 701 and that the Commissioner, pursuant to the authority -of 8 U.S.C.A. § 727, has adopted an amendment to Regulation 338.1, 10 F.R. 2156, effective February 21, 1945, approved by the .Attorney General1 interpreting the statute in such a way as to resolve the alleged ambiguity in' favor of petitioner’s admission to citizenship. The rationale of the Com-missioner’s interpretation is that petitioner’s ■recent lawful entry suffices to justify naturalization, despite his illegal presence in ■ the United States at the time of induction .and even though his military service was entirely in continental United States.

The argument made by both petitioner and the Commissioner is that the change in the language of section 701 effected by ■the amendment of 19442 is persuasive of 'Congressional intent to permit the admis•sion to citizenship of aliens serving in the armed forces, who illegally entered the United States prior to military service, providing such illegality is corrected by subsequent lawful admission, and this irrespective of whether or not such service in the armed forces was in continental United States or overseas. An interpretation of the statutory language, it is contended, is too technical if it results in the exclusion from citizenship of aliens, illegally present in the United States, who served in the armed forces, so long as the illegality is cured by lawful entry prior to the filing of the petition for naturalization. Particularly is this so, it is asserted, because of a clearly expressed desire of the Congress to short-cut the admission to citizenship of aliens who fought for this country. The Commissioner urges that the court should be liberal in its interpretation of the language of this statute to effectuate such purpose.

It is true that consideration should be given to the construction of statutory language placed thereon by those entrusted by law with executive and administrative functions and particularly so in cases where the statute authorizes the promulgation of regulations by the officer who is to execute the statute. Jacobs v. Prichard, 223 U.S. 200, 32 S.Ct. 289, 56 L.Ed. 405; United States v. Cerecedo, 209 U.S. 337, 28 S.Ct. 532, 52 L.Ed. 821; Moy Chee Chong v. Weedin, 28 F.2d 263. But I fail to find in regulation 338.13 any interpretative clari[86]*86fication of legislative intent in favor of naturalizing aliens illegally here at the time of their entry into military service, absent service overseas.

Moreover, it should be emphasized that an administrative officer has a clear duty to execute Congressional mandates without any effort on his part to extend statutory benefits and privileges because he thinks it might be a liberal or praiseworthy course of action and no matter how well intentioned he may be.

I am of the opinion that both the regulation so promulgated by the Commissioner (conceding that it does clarify the words of the statute) and his interpretation of the statutory language is completely without warrant or justification in view of the clear lesson tau'ght by the legislative history of the statute in question.4

After the United States entered World War II, Congress proceeded to a consideration of the nature and extent of citizenship benefits to be conferred upon aliens serving in the armed forces. The first legislation on this subject was contained in the Second War Powers Bill to expedite the war effort, introduced in the Senate by Senator Van Nuys on January 16, 1942, 88 Cong.Rec. 431. As introduced its provisions were applicable to all aliens with honorable service in the armed forces.5 Thereafter, committee investigations and hearings were had. The matter was debated in both Senate and House, the chief controversial feature of the proposed legislation being the extension of its provisions to non-resident aliens. Amendments were proposed and conferences were had between Senate and House Committees. * Finally there eventuated on March 27, 1942 Title X of the Second War Powers Act, 56 Stat. 182, 50 U.S.CA.Appendix, § 640, amending the Nationality Act of 1940 by adding Sec. 701 thereto,6 which in effect relieved those who served in the armed forces of the United States who had been lawfully admitted to the United States and were residents thereof at the time of their induction or enlistment, from many of the requirements which applied to civilian applicants for citizenship.7

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Bluebook (online)
71 F. Supp. 84, 1947 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2672, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-wong-sie-lim-cand-1947.