Another Look
We believe in recycling here at Obama Conspiracy Theories. It was last April when my article In re LOOK TIN SING appeared. Here, I cite more extensively from the decision of the Circuit Court in California in 1884. This case is a precursor to United States v. Wonk Kim Ark, with a similar Chinese citizen barred from re-entry into the United States. This case was decided in the same month as the law review article by George D. Collins was published, claiming that Chinese should never be citizens, that they must always be foreigners. These are the facts of the case as stated by the Court:
The petitioner belongs to the Chinese race, but he was born in Mendocino, in the state of California, in 1870. In 1879 he went to China, and returned to the port of San Francisco during the present month, (September, 1884,) and now seeks to land, claiming the right to do so as a natural-born citizen of the United States. It is admitted by an agreed statement of facts that his parents are now residing in Mendocino, in California, and have resided there for the last 20 years; that they are of the Chinese race, and have always been subjects of the emperor of China; that his father sent the petitioner to China, but with the intention that he should return to this country; that the father is a merchant at Mendocino, and is not here in Any diplomatic or other official capacity under the emperor of China.
In response to these facts, the Court said: (more…)
Wong Kim Ark in the news!
Riding home today, listening as always to All Things Considered on National Public Radio, I heard an interview with this Ted Hilton, a real estate developer, who is trying to get an initiative on the ballot in California that would deny benefits to the children of illegal aliens.
The way this would work is that they would disallow illegal immigrants from applying for benefits, and further say that children cannot apply themselves, resulting in the children being denied as well. The interviewer suggested that this would deny equal protection to the children who are U. S. citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Mr. Hilton then said, that no court or law has declared that they were citizens, and that Wonk Kim Ark only applies to alien parents who are “permanently domiciled” in the U. S. While he was not arguing that President Obama was ineligible, he did sound like a birther to the practiced ear.
Certainly the dicta in Wong contradicts the idea that permanent residence was considered a requirement.







