Chew Heong v. United States was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1885. The case involved a Chinese immigrant, Chew Heong, who had been denied entry into the United States due to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Chew Heong argued that the Exclusion Act was unconstitutional and violated his rights as a citizen of the United States. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the United States, finding that the Chinese Exclusion Act was constitutional and did not violate Chew Heong's rights. The Court held that the power to exclude aliens from the United States was a power inherent in the sovereignty of the United States and that the Chinese Exclusion Act was a valid exercise of that power. The Court also held that the Exclusion Act did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, as the Act was not based on race or nationality, but rather on the fact that Chinese immigrants were not citizens of the United States. The Court's decision in Chew Heong v. United States was a major victory for the United States government and helped to solidify the Chinese Exclusion Act as a valid exercise of the government's power to exclude aliens from the United States.

In Chew Heong v. United States, the Supreme Court considered whether a Chinese immigrant was subject to deportation under an 1882 law that prohibited entry of any “Chinese laborer” who had not been admitted or lawfully residing in the US prior to its enactment. The majority held that because Chew Heong had entered the country after passage of this law, he could be deported despite having obtained a certificate from immigration authorities indicating his lawful residence in the US. Justice Field dissented on behalf of himself and three other justices, arguing that Congress did not intend for those already living in America when it passed this act to be affected by it. Furthermore, Field argued that since Chew Heong had received a certificate from immigration officials confirming his legal status as resident before being arrested and deported without due process, he should have been allowed to remain in America regardless of when he arrived there originally.