In United States v. Sing Tuck,22 the contention was made that the question, whether or not a person seeking admission was an alien, necessarily involved the authority of the immigration officials to act at all, and that this jurisdictional question was one which the courts could not refuse to pass upon. In this case the Supreme Court avoided passing upon the point in limine, holding that the petitioner could not seek judicial remedy until he had exhausted (as he had not) the administrative remedies given him by statute. In United States v. Ju Toy,23 however, the petitioner had carried his appeal to the highest administrative official authorized by statute to consider his claim, and the Supreme Court thereupon found itself obliged to pass upon the main contention, which it did, holding that the administrative decision as to the status of the petitioner, no abuse of authority being prima facie made out, was final and conclusive. The opinion of the court consists mainly of a review of the earlier cases which, it is alleged, covered the point at issue. As regards whether the petitioner was deprived of liberty without due process of law, the court say: "The petitioner, although physically within our boundaries, is to be regarded as if he had been stopped at the limit of our jurisdiction, and kept there while his right to enter was under debate. If, for the purpose of argument, we assume that the Fifth Amendment applies to him and that to deny entrance to a citizen is to deprive him of liberty, we nevertheless are of opinion that with regard to him, due process of law does not require judicial trial. That is the result of the cases which we have cited, and the almost necessary result of the power of Congress to pass exclusion laws." From this decision three justices dissented. Justice Brewer in an opinion concurred in by Justice Peckham declared " appalling," the doctrine of the majority that one who, unless the very point at issue be prejudged, is a citizen of the United States may, though guilty of no crime, be, by the action of a ministerial officer, and without trial by jury or other judicial examination, punished by deportation and banishment. The dissenting justices then go on to review cases in which, they assert, is declared the doctrine that the courts will review the findings of executive officials with reference to those facts which determine their jurisdiction. The cases which are cited, however, do not determine this. They assert that the courts will review the judgments of administrative officials as to whether their authority extends over a given subject; that is, they will review the administrative interpretation of the statute conferring authority for administrative action, but the cases do not hold that, where the administrative decision is by statute made final, they will review a decision as to whether a given person or piece of property falls within the class of persons or property over which it is admitted that authority of the statute extends. Thus, had there been a question whether the Exclusion Act of Congress applied to aliens, the courts would review the administrative decision; but granting that it did apply to aliens, they would not review the judgment of the administrative officials as to whether or not a given individual was an alien, and, therefore, subject to expulsion or exclusion.24

22 194 U. S. 161; 24 Sup. Ct. Rep. 621; 48 L. ed. 917.

23 198 U. S. 253; 25 Sup. Ct. Rep. 644; 49 L. ed. 1040.

Of course, if the question of alienage or citizenship is dependent upon a matter of law, and not a determination purely of fact, the matter will be reviewed by the courts. Thus, for example, in Gonzales v. Williams25 the court determined in the last instance whether or not a native of Porto Rico who was an inhabitant of that island at the time of its cession to the United States was upon her arrival at a port of this country to be treated as an alien immigrant within the meaning of the Act of Congress of 1891.