Supreme Court denies Japanese immigrants whiteness for naturalization in Ozawa

The Supreme Court rules in Ozawa v. United States on November 13, 1922, that Takao Ozawa cannot become a naturalized citizen because he is not white. The Court holds that only free white persons and people of African descent can naturalize under existing law. Ozawa argues that he is white in skin color and character, but the Court says race follows ancestry and that Japanese people are not Caucasian within the meaning of the law. The ruling shows how the legal system uses racial categories to exclude Asian immigrants from citizenship.