In Quock Ting v. United States (1890), the U.S Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision to deny citizenship rights and deport Chinese-born Quock Ting, who claimed he was a naturalized citizen due to his birth in San Francisco. The case centered around the interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, which grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States." However, it also involved an 1882 law that restricted Chinese immigration and denied courts' jurisdiction over such cases. Despite evidence supporting Quock Ting's claim of being born in San Francisco - including witnesses testifying on his behalf - both lower courts ruled against him based on inconsistencies within their testimonies. In its ruling, the Supreme Court emphasized that while every person has a right to enter and remain in their own country unless expelled for some legal reason; this principle does not apply when there is reasonable doubt about one’s nationality status.

In the dissenting opinion for Quock Ting v. United States, Justice Field disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling that denied Quock Ting re-entry into the U.S., despite his claim of being a citizen by birth. He argued that this denial was based on an unjust interpretation of Chinese Exclusion Act provisions and violated constitutional rights. The justice contended that once citizenship is established, it cannot be taken away without due process of law - which he believed had not been afforded to Quock Ting. Furthermore, he criticized the reliance on testimony from white witnesses over those of Chinese descent in determining credibility during trial proceedings as discriminatory and unconstitutional. In conclusion, Justice Field asserted that if such practices were allowed to continue unchecked, they could potentially undermine fundamental principles upon which American democracy stands.