The Deportation Trap
A Seattle man is ordered out of the country after an accidental admission in court exposes him to the harsh realities of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A Chinese man named Quong Tai, who was arrested on Jackson street near the waterfront Monday night, was given a hearing before United States Commissioner Kiefer yesterday on a charge of being illegally in the country. He was subsequently ordered deported to China.
During the hearing, an incident occurred in which the man unwittingly convicted himself. He had employed an attorney to defend him, and the lawyer asked for a continuance to allow time to secure witnesses who would testify that his client had been a resident of Seattle for a long time.
'Well, let us see what he has to say for himself,' said the commissioner. 'How long have you been in America?'
The counsel for the defendant tried to interpose an objection, but before he could, Quong Tai answered: 'I come from China six years ago.'
The indignant lawyer seized his hat and left the courtroom in a rage. The Exclusion Act was passed in 1882, and since by his own admission the man arrived in America after the law went into effect, he was determined to be illegally in the country. Almost before the man recovered from the surprise of his attorney's departure, the commissioner ordered him deported to his native land.
“The indignant lawyer seized his hat and left the court-room in a rage.”
This 1892 report highlights the brutal and arbitrary nature of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which turned the courtroom into a trap for immigrant laborers. Today, while the specific laws have changed, the struggle of marginalized communities to navigate complex and often hostile legal systems remains a persistent tension in Seattle's civic life.
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