International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Local 37 v. Boyd

Members of Local 37 of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (Local 37) (plaintiff), including resident aliens previously accepted as U.S. residents, regularly traveled from the continental United States to Alaska for seasonal cannery work. Before the 1953 season, these resident alien workers grew concerned that Boyd (defendant), the INS District Director at Seattle, would interpret section 212(d)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to treat them, upon returning from Alaska, as if they were non-resident aliens entering the country for the first time — a status subject to far broader grounds for exclusion than would justify deporting an already-admitted resident alien. Before the 1953 season began and before any member had even left for Alaska, Local 37 sued seeking a declaratory judgment enjoining Boyd from applying that interpretation, and also asked the court to rule on the interpretation's constitutionality. The district court reached the merits and dismissed the suit; on appeal, Boyd argued the court should never have reached the merits at all because no justiciable case or controversy existed.