Paper sons

Last updated
Paper Son Paperson.jpg
Paper Son

Paper sons or paper daughters are Chinese people who were born in China and illegally immigrated to the United States and Canada [1] by purchasing documentation which stated that they were blood relatives to Chinese people who had already received U.S. or Canadian [2] citizenship or residency. Typically it would be relation by being a son or a daughter. [3] Several historical events such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and 1906 San Francisco earthquake caused the illegal documents to be produced. [4]

Contents

Background

With the U.S. Chinese Exclusion Act enacted in 1882, and the Canadian Chinese Immigration Acts enacted in 1885 and 1923, [5] Chinese people were largely excluded from entering the United States and Canada from China.

In the United States

The Chinese Exclusion Act was the only law in American history to deny naturalization in or entry into the United States based upon a specific ethnicity or country of birth, though it was not the only law to deny citizenship based on ethnicity or country of birth (as Native- and African-American, among other Non-White American, people had at various times been denied citizenship based upon ethnicity; and not every American who was born overseas to at least one American parent was granted by-birth citizenship until the passage of the 1952 Immigration and Naturalization Act). It stated that the coming of Chinese laborers would endanger the order of localities. [4] As the American economy plummeted, problems of unemployment arose and blame was placed upon the Chinese for taking over jobs for low pay. In 1892, this act was renewed for another ten years in the form of the Geary Act. It was eventually made permanent in 1902. [6]

Take the proceedings in the Commissioner's Court almost any morning. A Chinaman is before the Commissioner on a writ of habeas corpus; his attorney claims that he was born in the United States; the Chinaman does not claim it; he doesn't know enough about our language or customs to claim anything; but, nevertheless, there are a number of Chinese who can be found who will testify that they knew the applicant's father and mother twenty or twenty-five years ago; that applicant was born at 710 Dupont street, on the third floor, in-room No. 13; that when the boy was 2 years old he was taken to China by his mother to be educated; that he has lived in China ever since that time; that now his mother is dead and his father is dead and he wants to come back to his native America to take care of the business of his old uncle or cousin—and the uncle or cousin is there to swear to it. So common is this story, so well is it learned and so carefully is it presented in evidence in the courts, that one of the Federal Judges estimated that if the story were true every Chinese woman who was in the United States twenty-five years ago must have had at least 500 children.

— Duncan E. McKinlay, Assistant U.S. District Attorney, speaking at the 1901 Chinese Exclusion Convention [7]

In 1906, the San Francisco earthquake caused a huge fire that destroyed public birth documents. Suddenly a new opportunity for citizenship arose: Chinese men who were already in the United States could claim that they were born in the United States. Other Chinese men would travel back to China as United States citizens and report that their wives had given birth to a son. Consequently, this made the child eligible to be a United States citizen, for which they would receive a document. These documents could then be used for their actual sons, or sold to friends, neighbors, and strangers. [8] This was termed as a "slot" and would then be available for purchase to men who had no blood relationships in the United States in order to be eligible to enter the United States. Merchant brokers often acted as middlemen to handle the sale of slots. [9]

To truly enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act, an Immigration Station located in Angel Island in 1910, questioned and interrogated immigrants coming from 84 different countries with the majority of immigrants being Asian and Chinese, being the largest ethnic group at the time of establishment. Since official records were often non-existent, an interrogation process was created to determine if the immigrants were related as they had claimed. On average an interrogation process could take up to 2–3 weeks, but some immigrants were interrogated for months. Questions could include details of the immigrant's home and village as well as specific knowledge of his or her ancestors. [10] These questions had been anticipated and thus, irrespective of the true nature of the relationship to their sponsor, the applicant had prepared months in advance by committing these details to memory. Their witnesses—usually other family members living in the United States—would be called forward to corroborate these answers. Any deviation from the testimony would prolong questioning or throw the entire case into doubt and put the applicant at risk of deportation, and possibly everyone else in the family connected to the applicant as well. A detention center was in operation for thirty years; however, there were many concerns about the sanitation and safety of the immigrants at Angel Island, which proved to be true in 1940 when the administration building burned down. As a result, all the immigrants were relocated to another facility. The Chinese Exclusion Act was eventually repealed in 1943. [11]

When ships arrived in San Francisco, travelers were separated based on their nationality. Europeans and other first or second-class ticket holders were allowed to disembark, while Asian and other immigrants or those who had health concerns and were in need for quarantine were sent to Angel Island for processing. [12]

Poetry at Angel Island Immigration Station Poetry on the wall at the Angel Island Immigration Station (40204).jpg
Poetry at Angel Island Immigration Station

The living conditions at Angel Island were not to be desired. A poem that was engraved on the Angel Island immigration station wooden wall describes the difficult conditions that they were kept under. The poem indicates they had been kept in a wooden house for weeks on end, and all that could be done was to wait for the voice to call for interrogation. [13]

In Canada

The Chinese Immigration Act prohibited most Chinese immigration to Canada beginning in 1923. All ethnic Chinese people in Canada were required to register with the government and were issued a number called a C.I.45, including both immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese. [14] The C.I.45 was a continuation of earlier registration cards issued to Chinese people in Canada, beginning with the C.I.5 which was issued beginning in 1885 to indicate whether they had paid the Chinese Head Tax to enter Canada. [15]

Even native-born Chinese-Canadians were required to register and issued C.I.28 certificates. Some Chinese people in Canada sold their certificates to prospective immigrants in China so that they could use these documents to enter Canada, assuming the identity of the original certificate holder. This is where the terms “paper son” and “paper daughter” came from, with immigrants posing as relatives of others using the C.I. they purchased. [14]

Even after the repeal of the Chinese Immigration Acts, it was difficult for people of Chinese origin to immigrate into Canada. They were required to be sponsored by either a father, mother, or spouse. [16] [17]

Life after immigration

In 1957, the US government created a "confession program" that asked Chinese immigrants who had arrived in the US as paper sons and paper daughters to confess in return for legitimate citizenship. The confession required both self-report and reporting on friends, neighbors, business associates or even family members. In addition, if one could report any communist movement, that would be considered into the amnesty policy. This created a rift between those in the Chinese immigrant community.[ citation needed ]

Paper sons and paper daughters faced challenges in their daily lives including school, work, and marriage. Documentations required actions that were particularly difficult for these paper sons and daughters, limiting their options.

The state of California formally apologized to thousands of Chinese immigrants who helped build the state while facing persistent racism and debilitating laws targeting them in 2009. [18]

In Canada amnesty was provided by the Chinese Adjustment Statement Program starting in 1960. [19]

After the Chinese Exclusion Act

After China became a World War II ally, that vast power over non-citizens was deployed in raids against immigrants of various ethnic groups whose politics were considered suspect. Many paper sons suddenly faced the exposure of their fraudulent documentations. The United States government was tipped off by an informer in Hong Kong as part of a Cold War effort to stop illegal immigration. Many paper sons were scared of being deported back to China. [20] Only in the 1960s did new legislation broaden immigration from Asia and gave paper sons a chance to tell the truth about who they were and restore their real names in "confessional" programs, but many chose to stick with their adopted names for fear of retribution and took their true names to their graves. Many paper sons never told their descendants about their past, leaving them with confusion and disconnecting them from their family history. Some paper sons even went as far as adopting the American lifestyle by not teaching their children their home languages and forgetting any Chinese cultural aspects such as their cultural foods and rituals. [21]

Notable people

This is a partial list of people who were paper sons or daughters:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Exclusion Act</span> American federal law enacted in 1882

The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law made exceptions for merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplomats. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first major US law ever implemented to prevent all members of a specific national group from immigrating to the United States, and therefore helped shape twentieth-century race-based immigration policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Chinese immigration to Canada</span>

Chinese immigrants began settling in Canada in the 1780s. The major periods of Chinese immigration would take place from 1858 to 1923 and 1947 to the present day, reflecting changes in the Canadian government's immigration policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Canadians</span> Canadians of Chinese ancestry

Chinese Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Han Chinese ancestry, which includes both naturalized Chinese immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese. They comprise a subgroup of East Asian Canadians which is a further subgroup of Asian Canadians. Demographic research tends to include immigrants from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as overseas Chinese who have immigrated from Southeast Asia and South America into the broadly defined Chinese Canadian category.

United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court which held that "a child born in the United States, of parents of Chinese descent, who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of the Emperor of China, but have a permanent domicile and residence in the United States, and are there carrying on business, and are not employed in any diplomatic or official capacity under the Emperor of China", automatically became a U.S. citizen at birth. This decision established an important precedent in its interpretation of the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

Anchor baby is a term used to refer to a child born to non-citizen parents in a country that has birthright citizenship which will therefore help the parents and other family members gain legal residency. In the U.S., the term is generally used as a derogatory reference to the supposed role of the child, who automatically qualifies as an American citizen under jus soli and the rights guaranteed in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The term is also often used in the context of the debate over illegal immigration to the United States. A similar term, "passport baby", has been used in Canada for children born through so-called "maternity" or "birth tourism".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geary Act</span> US law of 1892 that extended the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 with new requirements

The Geary Act was a United States law that extended the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 by adding onerous new requirements. It was written by California Representative Thomas J. Geary and was passed by Congress on May 5, 1892. 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 of hard labor. In addition, Chinese were not allowed to bear witness in court, and could not receive bail in habeas corpus proceedings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese American Citizens Alliance</span>

Chinese American Citizens Alliance (C.A.C.A.) is a Chinese American fraternal, benevolent non-profit organization founded in 1895 in San Francisco, California to secure equal rights for Americans of Chinese ancestry and to better the welfare of their communities. C.A.C.A. is the United States' oldest Asian American civil rights organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration Act of 1917</span> United States law

The Immigration Act of 1917 was a United States Act that aimed to restrict immigration by imposing literacy tests on immigrants, creating new categories of inadmissible persons, and barring immigration from the Asia–Pacific region. The most sweeping immigration act the United States had passed until that time it followed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 in marking a turn toward nativism. The 1917 act governed immigration policy until it was amended by the Immigration Act of 1924; both acts were revised by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.

Asian immigration to the United States refers to immigration to the United States from part of the continent of Asia, which includes East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Asian-origin populations have historically been in the territory that would eventually become the United States since the 16th century. The first major wave of Asian immigration occurred in the late 19th century, primarily in Hawaii and the West Coast. Asian Americans experienced exclusion, and limitations to immigration, by the United States law between 1875 and 1965, and were largely prohibited from naturalization until the 1940s. Since the elimination of Asian exclusion laws and the reform of the immigration system in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, there has been a large increase in the number of immigrants to the United States from Asia.

Chain migration is the social process by which immigrants from a particular area follow others from that area to a particular destination. The destination may be in another country or in a new location within the same country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naturalization Act of 1790</span> United States federal law

The Naturalization Act of 1790 was a law of the United States Congress that set the first uniform rules for the granting of United States citizenship by naturalization. The law limited naturalization to "free white person(s) ... of good character". This eliminated ambiguity on how to treat newcomers, given that free black people had been allowed citizenship at the state level in many states. In reading the Naturalization Act, the courts also associated whiteness with Christianity and thus excluded Muslim immigrants from citizenship until the decision Ex Parte Mohriez recognized citizenship for a Saudi Muslim man in 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Chinese Americans</span>

The history of Chinese Americans or the history of ethnic Chinese in the United States includes three major waves of Chinese immigration to the United States, beginning in the 19th century. Chinese immigrants in the 19th century worked in the California Gold Rush of the 1850s and the Central Pacific Railroad in the 1860s. They also worked as laborers in Western mines. They suffered racial discrimination at every level of White society. Many Americans were stirred to anger by the "Yellow Peril" rhetoric. Despite provisions for equal treatment of Chinese immigrants in the 1868 Burlingame Treaty between the U.S. and China, political and labor organizations rallied against "cheap Chinese labor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian immigration and refugee law</span>

Canadian immigration and refugee law concerns the area of law related to the admission of foreign nationals into Canada, their rights and responsibilities once admitted, and the conditions of their removal. The primary law on these matters is in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, whose goals include economic growth, family reunification, and compliance with humanitarian treaties.

During the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, the United States had limited regulation of immigration and naturalization at a national level. Under a mostly prevailing "open border" policy, immigration was generally welcomed, although citizenship was limited to “white persons” as of 1790, and naturalization subject to five year residency requirement as of 1802. Passports and visas were not required for entry into America, rules and procedures for arriving immigrants were determined by local ports of entry or state laws. Processes for naturalization were determined by local county courts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel Island Immigration Station</span> Former immigration detention center in San Francisco Bay

Angel Island Immigration Station was an immigration station in San Francisco Bay which operated from January 21, 1910, to November 5, 1940, where immigrants entering the United States were detained and interrogated. Angel Island is an island in San Francisco Bay. It is currently a State Park administered by California State Parks and a California Historical Landmark. The island was originally a fishing and hunting site for Coastal Miwok Indians, then it was a haven for Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala. Later, it was developed as a cattle ranch, then, starting with the Civil War, the island served as a U.S. Army post. During the island's Immigration Station period, the island held hundreds of thousands of immigrants, the majority from China, Japan, India, Mexico and the Philippines. The detention facility was considered ideal because of its isolated location, making it very easy to control immigrants, contain outbreaks of disease, and enforce the new immigration laws. The station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under the title Angel Island, U.S. Immigration Station, and is a National Historic Landmark. The station is open to the public as a museum – "a place for reflection and discovery of our shared history as a nation of immigrants".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese immigration to Puerto Rico</span> Began during the 19th century

Large-scale Chinese immigration to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean began during the 19th century. Chinese immigrants had to face different obstacles that prohibited or restricted their entry in Puerto Rico.

<i>Dow v. United States</i> 1915 United States Supreme Court case

Dow v. United States, 226 F. 145, is a United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, case in which a Syrian immigrant, George Dow, appealed two lower court decisions denying his application for naturalization as a United States citizen. Following the lower court decisions in Ex Parte Dow (1914) and In re Dow (1914), Dow v. United States resulted in the Circuit Court's affirmation of the petitioner's right to naturalize based, in the words of Circuit Judge Charles Albert Woods, on "the generally received opinion. .. that the inhabitants of a portion of Asia, including Syria, [are] to be classed as white persons".

Applicants for immigration into the United States must meet certain medical standards, as assessed by the Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record (I-693). The purpose of the medical exam is to ensure that an applicant is “not inadmissible to the United States on public health grounds." Inadmissibility is defined in Act 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Accordingly, an alien is inadmissible if he or she has a communicable disease of public health significance, lacks the required vaccines, is a drug abuser or addict, or has a physical or mental disorder with a behavior, or history of a behavior, that is a threat to “the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others”.

The Chinese Confession Program was a program run by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in the United States between 1956 and 1965, that sought confessions of illegal entry from US citizens and residents of Chinese origin, with the offer of legalization of status in exchange. It was an important component of U.S. immigration policy toward the People's Republic of China.

Asian Americans is a five-hour PBS documentary film series made by ITVS, WETA, and the Center for Asian American Media. The series focus on the history of Asian and Asian American people in the United States and first aired on May 11, 2020. It received a Peabody Award in 2021.

References

  1. ↑ Chinese Canadian National Council. https://ccncourstories.wordpress.com/videos/paper-sons-video/
  2. ↑ Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-immigration-act
  3. ↑ "My Father Was a Paper Son". Archived from the original on 2015-09-06.
  4. 1 2 ""Paper Sons": Chinese American illegal immigrants". Youtube. 14 November 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/chinese-immigration-act-1923
  6. ↑ "Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)" . Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  7. ↑ McKinlay, Duncan E. (23 November 1901). "Legal Aspects of the Chinese Question". San Francisco Call. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  8. ↑ See, Lisa (2 August 2009). "'Paper sons,' hidden pasts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Chin, Thomas. "Paper Sons" . Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "United States Immigration Station (USIS)". Angel Island Conservancy. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "ife on Angel Island". Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "History of Angel Island Immigration Station | Angel Island Immigration Station - San Francisco". AIISF. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  13. ↑ The Jon B. Lovelace Collection of California Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project/ Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-highsm-25215)
  14. 1 2 "When Chinese in Canada Were Numbered, Interrogated, Excluded". July 2021.
  15. ↑ Library and Archives Canada. https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/history-ethnic-cultural/Pages/chinese.aspx
  16. ↑ "May 2019: Moon (Bill) Dong was fixture in Winnipeg restaurant scene for five decades". 11 May 2019.
  17. ↑ Road To Justice. http://www.roadtojustice.ca/laws/chinese-exclusion-act
  18. ↑ See, Lisa (2 August 2009). "'Paper sons,' hidden pasts". Los Angeles Times .
  19. ↑ "Road to Justice » Chinese Exclusion Act".
  20. ↑ BERNSTEIN, NINA (30 September 2009). "Immigration Stories, From Shadows to Spotlight". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  21. ↑ Ni, Ching-Ching (24 January 2010). "A Chinese American immigration secret emerges from the dark days of discrimination". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  22. ↑ "Tyrus Timeline". pbs.org. September 6, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Jim Wong-Chu: Iconic Asian Canadian". Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society. 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  24. ↑ Desk, OV Digital (2023-01-26). "28 January: Remembering Jim Wong-Chu on Birthday". Observer Voice. Retrieved 2023-01-26.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.