56031/494
Decided by the Board July 18, 1942.
Seamen — Section 34, Immigration Act of 1917.
1. The requirements of section 34 of the immigration Act of 1917 that a seaman be taken before a board of special inquiry within 3 years of his entry to determine his admissibility do not apply to a deportation charge under the Immigration Act of 1924.
2. When a seaman is found to be subject to deportation under the Immigration Act of 1924 and also under the Immigration Act of 1917 for causes existing prior to entry, the 3-years' time limitation of section 34 of the 1917 act will be adhered to in regard to the 1917 act charges, but all questions of deportability will be determined in a warrant hearing.
CHARGES:
Warrant: Act of 1924 — Remained longer than permitted. Act of 1917 — Likely to become a public charge; became a public charge; insanity previous to entry.
Mr. William Dawson, representative, of the Stockton State Hospital, Stockton, Calif., for the respondent.
Miss Arlene Tuck, Board attorney-examiner.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE: Warrant of arrest on the above charges was issued March 26, 1940. Respondent was taken into custody and a hearing conducted at Stockton State Hospital on October 29, 1940. Respondent was represented by a member of the staff of the hospital. The presiding inspector found that the evidence supported the charges stated in the warrant of arrest and recommended deportation.
The matter is now before this Board for review and decision.
DISCUSSION: Respondent is a native and citizen of Sweden, 34 years old, single, and he last entered the United States in July 1939, at San Francisco, Calif., as a seaman on the S.S. Knut Rasmussen.
The record contains a certificate signed by a physician of the Stockton State Hospital, certifying that respondent has been an inmate of that institution since September 11, 1939, that the institution is supported wholly by State funds, and that the patient has no funds and no responsible relatives of record.
Respondent's condition is diagnosed as dementia praecox, paranoid type. It is certified that the patient was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of and before his arrival in the United States, and further that the patient admits that he was hospitalized on two previous occasions in Sweden. Another report from the hospital states that the previous hospitalization was in connection with "nervous trouble." In view of the fact that respondent has been certified to be suffering from dementia praecox, this nervous trouble may be presumed to have been an earlier manifestation of that mental disease.
The respondent is a seaman and is charged with being subject to deportation under the Immigration Act of 1917 and the Immigration Act of 1924. Under the provisions of section 34 of the 1917 act, he is to be taken before a board of special inquiry within 3 years after entry and examined as to his qualifications for admission. The provisions of section 34, however, do not apply to the charge that respondent is subject to deportation under the 1924 act on the ground that he has remained in the United States longer than the period for which he was admitted. Philippides v. Day, 283 U.S. 48 (1931). Accordingly, the warrant hearing was the proper procedure to determine his deportability on the 1924 act charge. This charge is sustained by the evidence, and another hearing before a board of special inquiry in regard to the 1917 act charges would be a duplication of hearings. Respondent could not have developed anything at such a hearing that would establish that he is not deportable. The requirement of section 34, that the determination be made within 3 years, has been satisfied.
Respondent is deportable at Government expense on the 1924 act charge that he has remained in the United States longer than permitted. In regard to the 1917 act charges, section 34 of that act specifically provides that seamen shall be deportable at Government expense. Despite the fact, then, that respondent is deportable for causes arising prior to his entry, deportation must be at Government expense.
FINDINGS OF FACT: Upon the basis of all the evidence presented, it is found:
(1) That the respondent is an alien, native and citizen of Sweden;
(2) That the respondent last entered the United States at the port of San Francisco in July 1939, as a seaman;
(3) That the respondent has remained in the United States for a longer period than that for which he was admitted;
(4) That the respondent is an insane patient in the Stockton State Hospital, to which he was admitted on September 11, 1939;
(5) That hospitalization of the respondent at that institution is a public expense;
(6) That respondent has not established that the causes of his mental condition arose subsequent to his last entry into the United States;
(7) That respondent was hospitalized in Sweden for conditions relating to his insanity, prior to his last entry;
(8) That at the time of last entry, respondent was a person likely to become a public charge.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, it is concluded:
(1) That under sections 14 and 15 of the Immigration Act of 1924, respondent is subject to deportation on the ground that he has remained in the United States longer than permitted by this act and regulations made thereunder;
(2) That under sections 3 and 19 of the Immigration Act of 1917, respondent is subject to deportation on the ground that he was a person likely to become a public charge at the time of his last entry into the United States;
(3) That under sections 3 and 19 of the Immigration Act of 1917, respondent is subject to deportation on the ground that he has had one or more attacks of insanity previous to his last entry into the United States;
(4) That under section 19 of the Immigration Act of 1917, respondent is subject to deportation on the ground that he became a public charge within 5 years after entry into the United States, from causes not affirmatively shown to have arisen subsequent thereto;
(5) That under sections 20 and 34 of the Immigration Act of 1917, respondent is deportable to Sweden at Government expense.
OTHER FACTORS: Respondent has no relatives in the United States. He has a brother and an uncle in Sweden, neither of whom he has seen more recently than 1922 (statement of preliminary investigation).
ORDER: It is ordered that the alien be deported to Sweden at Government expense on the charges stated in the warrant of arrest.