An important Federal District Court decision, granting a restraining order permitting an alien to return to his family in the United States from Canada and to resume his business activities in Detroit, was handed down here yesterday and is considered of value in view of the precedent it establishes in further relieving the position in which many immigrants find themselves.
The restraining order was issued by Federal Judge Ernest A. O’Brien in the case of Irwin Rash who has been a legal resident here since April, 1920. On July 2, 1932, Mr. Rash left for Toronto to visit his parents there. Upon his return three days later he was excluded by the immigration authorities because they were unable to find a record of the payment of his head tax.
At three different times the case was reopened and Mr. Rash introduced evidence to show that he had resided here continuously since his original entry in 1920. The bill of complaint filed by his attorneys, Theodore Levin and Nathan L. Milstein, pointed out that the absence of Mr. Rash’s record of arrival may be due to its loss or destruction and does not warrant the exclusion of a resident alien returning from a brief visit in Canada. The attorneys pointed out also that in cases of this kind Congress provided that the Secretary of Labor shall have discretion to re-admit the returning alien.
It was Mr. Levin’s contention that the Secretary of Labor abused his discretion in failing to re-admit Mr. Rash, especially in view of the Registry Act of 1929 which permits an alien to legalize his residence if he has lived here continuously since June 3, 1921.
During the hearing yesterday, the government was represented by Assistant District Attorney Louis M. Hopping. Following the issuance of the restraining order, Mr. Rash was permitted to return to the United States to join his wife, and daughter.
Theodore Levin, the attorney, was chief of counsel who successfully fought against the Michigan alien registration bill. Federal Judge Ernest A. O’Brien wrote the opinion in behalf of the three-judge court declaring that measure unconstitutional.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
