William O. Douglas

“ This alien seeks not citizenship, not residence, but only the shelter of a provision of the law designed to protect such refugees from the fate of 'physical persecution.' She only requests that she be eligible to be considered by the Attorney General as a beneficiary of this humane provision of our law. Only a hostile reading can deny her that respite. ”

“ I would not read the law narrowly to make it the duty of our officials to send this alien and the others in the companion case to what may be persecution or death. Technicalities need not enmesh us. The spirit of the law provides the true guide. ”

“ It makes plain, I think, that this case is one of those where the Attorney General is authorized to save a human being from persecution in a Communist land.
Notes
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105) . ”