WONG SHEE (Wong Toy Heung)
"I Would Like to Know How My Mother was Kill"

Wong Shee (Wong Toy Heung) is the wife of Hom Hen Shew, a New York businessman and mother of three sons and three daughters. She arrives at the Port of San Francisco (then relocated to 801 Silver Avenue) in October of 1941, specifically to accompany and seek entry for her two youngest sons.

During this era, many young children in the detention facilities were isolated from their parents. The Immigration Service believed that male children who "could take care of themselves" did not belong in the women's quarters. However, many detainees felt that immigration officials were simply trying to prevent collusion between family members intent on falsifying their testimony in upcoming interrogations. Strict immigration procedures imposed many hardships on those detained. In this case, the consequences were tragic.

Commentary by Producer/Director Jennie F. Lew

Rumors have always persisted whether there were suicides at the detention centers. We have here one important case file that thoroughly documents just such an incident. The fundamental story is that of a mother attempting to reunite her two small children with her husband in New York. However, many cumulative circumstances begin to escalate this mother's anxiety to unbearable proportions.

A small note in the testimony indicates that Wong Shee has been given misinformation from the matron that her case has been denied. The staff at the Immigration Service is mystified by the woman's ever-growing distress. What is particularly poignant are letters by Wong Shee's eldest son, serving in the U.S. armed services at the time and the sterile letters sent back to him by immigration officials regarding his inquiries.

In the files, Wong Shee was reported to have cried out on her last evening, "I am crazy!" That is the literal translation, as given by the Chinese interpreter in the case file. However, it is important to note that in the Chinese dialect of her native Toisanese, the actual colloquial meaning of that phrase can also be interpreted as "I'm at my wit's end." In this case, misunderstandings went beyond that of simply language. They were monumental. The human consequence of public policy gone awry is painfully apparent.

SOURCE: Wong Shee, 41369/11-29; Arrival Investigation Case Files, 1884-1944; San Francisco District Office; Recordsof the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Record Group 85; National Archives and Records Administration Pacific Region (San Francisco).