The Deportation of Ah Choong
A Chinese resident is detained in Port Townsend despite possessing a Geary Act certificate, illustrating the arbitrary cruelty of federal exclusion laws.
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.
Ah Choong is an unfortunate man in Port Townsend whom the Geary Act does not protect. At present, he is under arrest, and unless someone comes to his rescue, it is likely he will be bundled off to China, certificate and all. An officer captured him during one of the periodical raids customs officials make on local stores and employment agencies. Recently, when the trial was held before a United States commissioner, Ah Choong startled the court by holding forth a certificate, issued in Portland under the Geary law, which bears evidence that he has been a resident of the United States for fourteen years. In giving testimony, Ah asserted he had been here but fourteen days, and upon his own assertion the sentence of deportation was pronounced. Several legal authorities here are of the opinion that Ah need pay no attention to the decree if the certificate is brought up before the United States circuit judge. His photograph is attached to the certificate, and it is regular in every particular.
The Geary Act of 1892 required Chinese laborers to carry certificates of residence or face deportation. This story captures the harrowing reality of the 'administrative' violence used to strip residents of their legal standing and livelihoods, a theme of state-sanctioned exclusion that has deep roots in Pacific Northwest history.
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