The Struggle for a Family’s Right to Stay Together
A Chinese merchant battles in federal court after immigration authorities refused his wife entry to the United States.
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.
Lm Fook Bow, a Chinese merchant residing in San Francisco, obtained a writ of habeas corpus for his wife, Ma Lm Fook Bow. In his petition, he stated that he has resided in this country for twenty-five years, that his wife was born here twenty-five years ago, and that they were married five years ago. His wife had occasion four months ago to visit Victoria, B.C., to see her mother, who was on her deathbed. Two months ago, he went to Victoria to bring her home, and they took passage on the Castilla, but the collector at San Francisco refused to allow her to land. The boat returned to Victoria and he remained with her. The authorities of British Columbia would not permit her to land, and they came on the boat to Port Townsend, where they were taken to the custom house for examination. The certificate of his wife was not satisfactory, and she was ordered deported. Lm Fook Bow was indicted for assisting in the landing of his wife, but Judge Hanford dismissed the charge. Mrs. Lm Fook Bow remains in the custody of the United States Marshal.
“The certificate of his wife was not satisfactory and she was ordered deported.”
This case highlights the brutal intersection of the Chinese Exclusion Act and family separation. Today, the story serves as a reminder that the systemic barriers to legal immigration and the questioning of citizenship have long roots in Pacific Northwest history.
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