Detained at Seattle: A Chinese Merchant’s Weeks-Long Fight to Enter
Moy Kee and his wife wait at the Seattle immigration station while officials weigh his right to enter the country; he is finally admitted and heads home to Indiana.
Seattle—After detention with his wife at the Seattle immigration station for several weeks, while his right to admission into this country was being investigated, Moy Kee, a wealthy Chinese merchant of Indianapolis, was admitted Saturday afternoon and will proceed at once to Indiana, where he has extensive business interests.
“After being detained with his wife at the Seattle immigration station for several weeks, while his right to admission into this country was being investigated, Moy Kee... was admitted Saturday afternoon.”
Moy Kee’s detention took place under the Chinese exclusion regime, when Chinese travelers could be held for weeks while proving their right to enter. The story’s language reflects the era’s dehumanizing vocabulary, but the underlying question—who gets to cross a border and how long they must wait—remains painfully current.
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