Court Opinion

ID: 9636698
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 14:40:10.208996+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:09:48.316217
License: Public Domain

MATHEWS, Circuit Judge (concurring).
Appellant sought admission to the United States as a citizen thereof. His case was heard by a Board of Special Inquiry appointed under section 17 of the Immigration Act of February 5, 1917, c. 29, 39 Stat. 887, 8 U.S.C.A. § 153. The board determined that appellant was not a citizen and should not be admitted. That determination was upheld by the Secretary of Labor. Appellant then applied for a writ of habeas corpus and, from an order denying the writ, has appealed to this court.
The record shows, without dispute, that appellant and his father, Jung Goey Fook, were born in China and have not been naturalized. Appellant claims, however, that his paternal grandfather was a citizen of the United States, and that, by reason thereof, appellant’s father and appellant himself are citizens. Appellant’s father testified that appellant’s paternal grand*814father was Jung Foo Wan, who, it is conceded, was a citizen of the United States. Appellant, testifying as a witness for himself, denied that Jung Foo Wan was his paternal grandfather, and stated that his paternal grandfather was Jung Wing Hong. There is no evidence that Jung Wing Hong was a citizen. In view of this conflict, the board and the secretary held that appellant’s alleged citizenship was not established.
The secretary’s decision denying appellant admission to the United States is final and conclusive upon the courts, unless it be shown that the proceedings were manifestly unfair or conducted in an unlawful or improper way, or that there was a manifest abuse of discretion. Ng Heu Yim v. Bonham (C.C.A.9) 79 F.(2d) 655, 656. There is no such showing in this case.
Appellant’s contention that the board acted unfairly in accepting his testimony and rejecting that of his father scarcely merits serious consideration. The weight of the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses were for the board, not the court, to determine. Mui Sam Hun v. United States (C.C.A.9) 78 F.(2d) 612, 615. It was likewise for the board, not the court, to determine the weight to be given previous decisions of the immigration authorities recognizing the alleged citizenship of appellant’s father. Wong Chow Gin v. Cahill (C.C.A.9) 79 F.(2d) 854, 857, 859.
There is no merit in appellant’s contention that the board acted unfairly in not directing the attention of appellant’s father to appellant’s testimony. Appellant’s father was not a party to these proceedings, and the board, therefore, owed him no duty whatsoever.
The writ of habeas corpus was properly denied.