## Facts

- Ah Yup, a native and citizen of China described as of the “Mongolian race,” petitioned for naturalization in federal court in the District of California.
- The petition asserted he met the statutory qualifications for naturalization if the governing statute permitted naturalization of a native of China of the “Mongolian race.”
- The court requested extensive argument from members of the bar as amici curiae due to the novelty of the application.
- The court examined the federal naturalization statutes, including Revised Statutes § 2169 as amended in 1875, which stated that naturalization provisions apply to “aliens being free white persons” and to “aliens of African nativity” and “persons of African descent.”

## Issues

1. Whether a person of the “Mongolian race” is a “free white person” within the meaning of Revised Statutes § 2169.
2. Whether § 2169’s express inclusion of “free white persons” and persons of African nativity or descent excludes all other racial groups from naturalization.

## Decision

- The court denied the petition for naturalization.
- The court held that a person of the “Mongolian race” is not a “white person” within the meaning of the naturalization statute.
- The court held that the statute limited eligibility to “free white persons” and persons of African nativity or descent, thereby excluding others not named.

## Legal Principles

- Under Revised Statutes § 2169 (as amended in 1875), eligibility for naturalization was restricted to “free white persons” and to aliens of African nativity and persons of African descent.
- Statutory interpretation begins with the enacted text, and where Congress has specifically enumerated eligible categories, courts may not extend naturalization eligibility beyond those categories.
- A Chinese applicant characterized as of the “Mongolian race” was not considered “white” under the statutory term as applied by the court, and therefore fell outside the eligible classes.

## Conclusion

The court interpreted § 2169 to confine naturalization to “free white persons” and persons of African nativity or descent, concluded that Chinese applicants of the “Mongolian race” were not “white persons” under the statute, and denied Ah Yup’s naturalization petition.


In re Ah Yup, 1 F. Cas. 223 (C.C.D. Cal. 1878)