Geary Act

The Geary Act was a United States law passed in 1892 written by California Congressman Thomas J. Geary. It extended the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 by adding onerous new requirements.

The law required all Chinese residents of the United States to carry a resident permit, a sort of internal passport. Failure to carry the permit at all times was punishable by deportation or a year at hard labor. In addition, Chinese were not allowed to bear witness in court, and could not receive bail in "habeas corpus" proceedings.

The Geary Act was challenged in the courts but was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in an opinion by Justice Horace Gray, Fong Yue Ting v. United States, 149 U.S. 698, 13 S. Ct. 1016. 37 L.Ed. 905 (1893), Justices David Josiah Brewer, Stephen J. Field, and Chief Justice Melville Fuller dissenting.

ee also

* The Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 - Canada
* Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 - Canada
* Magnuson Act
* Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965
* Burlingame Treaty

References

* [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=722681&high=%20Gabriel%20CHin Gabriel J. Chin, "Chae Chan Ping" and "Fong Yue Ting": The Origins of Plenary Power, in "Immigration Law Stories" (David Martin and Peter Schuck, eds., Foundation Press 2005)]