William O. Douglas

“ But the exigencies of war, not his voluntary act, put him on foreign soil. [1] It would indeed be harsh to read the statute so as to add the peril of deportation to such perils of the sea. We might as well hold that if he had been kidnapped and taken to Cuba, he made a statutory 'entry' on his voluntary return. Respect for law does not thrive on captious interpretations.
Deportation can be the equivalent of banishment or exile. See Bridges v. Wixon, 326 U.S. 135, 147, 65 S.Ct. 1443, 1449, 89 L.Ed. 2103. The stakes are indeed high and momentous for the alien who has acquired his residence here. ”

“ Petitioner was rescued and taken to Havana, Cuba, where he was taken care of by the American Consul for about one week. On July 19, 1942, he was returned to the United States through Miami, Florida, and thereafter continued to serve as a seaman in the merchant fleet of this nation. In March 1944 he was convicted in California of seconddegree robbery and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of one year to life. While he was confined in the California prison, proceedings for deportation were commenced against him under § 19 (a) of the Immigration Act of February 5, 1917, 39 Stat. ”

“ The case is here on a petition for a writ of certiorari which we granted because of the seeming conflict between the decision below and Di Pasquale v. Karnuth, 2 Cir., 158 F.2d 878, from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. ”