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3 Transnational Journeys Transnational Contract Labor Recruitment, Smuggling, and Familial Chain Migration On the first of July, 1911, Chinese immigrants Hom Hing, Ah Fong, Lee Lock, Sam Seu, and Leu Lin, accompanied by their Chinese-Mexican compatriot Joaquin Mon, drove by wagon from Ensenada to Carise, Lower California. Hom Hing, Ah Fong, Lee Lock, Sam Seu, and Leu Lin were received at the vicinity of the border by two Mexicans, Francisco Rios and Antonio Solis, who were contracted to take them safely across into the United States. Hom Hing promised to pay the Mexican guides $120 for their services, Lee Lock agreed to pay $405 in gold for safe transport to the United States, and Sam Seu contracted to pay $300 for his delivery to the “land of the flowery flag.” On the third of July, the five Chinese immigrants, together with Rios and Solis, entered the United States through San Ysidro, Lower California. Following their illegal crossing at San Ysidro, the group proceeded to the city of El Cajon in San Diego, where they were hidden by their Mexican guides in a straw stack on a hill located close to Riverview Station. Five days later, while en route to Anaheim, California, Hom Hing, Ah Fong, Lee Lock, Sam Seu, Leu Lin, Rios, and Solis were spotted by Immigration Service inspectorin -charge Harry H. Weddle near San Marcos, California, at about three o’clock in the morning on the tracks of the Santa Fe Railroad. Following an escape attempt, the group was arrested and subsequently interrogated by Weddle and his partner, Chinese Inspector Ralph L. Conklin. Upon their inspection and interrogation of Rios and Solis, Weddle and Conklin learned that the five captured contraband immigrants were consigned to Chinese individuals residing in Anaheim, California. Moreover, according to the smuggling arrangement, Rios was contracted to receive $150 for each contraband Chinese after safe delivery to Anaheim and upon the presentation of a special letter of identification given to him by Joaquin Mon of Ensenada written in the Chinese language. Following the successful apprehension of Hom Hing, Ah Fong, Lee Lock, Sam Seu, Leu Lin, Rios, and Solis, Inspectors Weddle and Conklin Labor Recruitment, Smuggling, and Family Migration 31 proceeded north to Anaheim, California, in pursuit of the Chinese agents to whom the five smuggled immigrants had been consigned. As part of their plan, Weddle and Conklin stopped first in Santa Ana, California, where they recruited sheriff employee George Placencia to pose as Francisco Rios. On July 15, 1911, Weddle, Conklin, and Rios traveled to Anaheim seeking to locate the intended recipient of the smuggling letter. Posing as Rios, Placencia learned from an elderly man, Ngan Fook, that the correspondence was addressed to the “big boss man,” Chin Tung Yin, who resided in Los Angeles. Fook further explained to Placencia that Chin would meet with him the next evening in Anaheim to discuss the arrangement. On the evening of July 16, 1911, Placencia met with Fook and the big boss man in the Anaheim Chinatown, and they worked out a plan for the delivery of the contraband Chinese described in the secret letter. Following an initial miscommunication as to the designated place of meeting, Placencia, together with Inspectors Weddle and Conklin, drove to meet Chin Tung Yin and Ngan Fook at a small Chinese garden located approximately one mile east of the city of Anaheim. Upon arrival at the garden, Weddle and Conklin parked their car on a side road and hid themselves behind a blackberry bush. Placencia proceeded to meet the big boss man, who was waiting for him in a house located in the Chinese garden. At the meeting, Chin paid Placencia $10 for expense costs and promised to pay Placencia the balance of the amount owed after the delivery of the Chinese immigrants. Moreover, Placencia was instructed to meet Chin at the railroad station the following morning and travel to Los Angeles Chinatown, where he would receive remuneration for services rendered. After their discussion, Placencia led Chin and Fook outside to the blackberry hedge, where they were arrested by Inspectors Conklin and Weddle. The U.S. Attorney subsequently dismissed charges against Ngan Fook for conspiracy to violate immigration laws related to Chinese exclusion; Francisco Rios and the big boss man Chin Tung Yin were also acquitted.1 This case study provides an intimate glimpse into the inner workings of the transnational smuggling business that developed in response to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. As a means of resisting...

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