ceeding in any case under this section in which he shall have participated in investigative functions or in which he shall have participated (except as provided in this subsection) in prosecuting functions. Proceedings before a special inquiry officer under this section shall be conducted in accordance with this section, the applicable provisions of sections 235 and 287(b), and such regulations as the Attorney General shall prescribe, and shall be the sole and exclusive procedure for determining admissibility of a person to the United States under the provisions of this section. At such inquiry, which shall be kept separate and apart from the public, the alien may have one friend or relative present, under such conditions as may be prescribed by the Attorney General. A complete record of the proceedings and of all testimony and evidence produced at such inquiry, shall be kept. (b) From a decision of a special inquiry officer excluding an alien, such alien may take a timely appeal to the Attorney General, and any such alien shall be advised of his right to take such appeal. No appeal may be taken from a temporary exclusion under section 235 (c). From a decision of the special inquiry officer to admit an alien, the immigration officer in charge at the port where the inquiry is held may take a timely appeal to the Attorney General. An appeal by the alien or such officer in charge, shall operate to stay any final action with respect to any alien whose case is so appealed until the final decision of the Attorney General is made. Except as provided in section 235 (c) such decision shall be rendered solely upon the evidence adduced before the special inquiry officer. (c) Except as provided in subsections (b) or (d), in every case where an alien is excluded from admission into the United States, under this Act or any other law or treaty now existing or hereafter made, the decision of a special inquiry officer shall be final unless reversed on appeal to the Attorney General. (d) If a medical officer or civil surgeon or board of medical officers has certified under section 234 that an alien is afflicted with a disease specified in section 212 (a)(6), or with any mental disease, defect, or disability which would bring such alien within any of the classes excluded from admission to the United States under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of section 212(a), the decision of the special inquiry officer shall be based solely upon such certification. No alien shall have a right to appeal from such an excluding decision of a special inquiry officer. If an alien is excluded by a special inquiry officer because of the existence of a physical disease, defect, or disability, other than one specified in section 212(a)(6), the alien may appeal from the excluding decision in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, and the provisions of section 213 may be invoked. 8 U.S.C. 1227. IMMEDIATE DEPORTATION OF ALIENS EXCLUDED FROM SEC. 237. (a) Any alien (other than an alien crewman) arriving in the United States who is excluded under this Act, shall be immediately deported to the country whence he came, in accommodations of the same class in which he arrived, on the vessel or aircraft bringing him, unless the Attorney General, in an individual case, in his discretion, concludes that immediate depor tation is not practicable or proper. The cost of the maintenance including detention expenses and expenses incident to detention of any such alien while he is being detained, as well as the transportation expense of his deportation from the United States, shall be borne by the owner or owners of the vessel or aircraft on which he arrived, except that the cost of maintenance (includ ing detention expenses and expenses incident to detention while the alien is being detained prior to the time he is offered for deportation to the transportation line which brought him to the United States) shall not be assessed against the owner or owners of such vessel or aircraft if (1) the alien was in possession of a valid, unexpired immigrant visa, or (2) if the alien (other than an alien crewman) was in possession of a valid, unexpired nonimmigrant visa or other document authorizing such alien to apply for temporary admission to the United States or an unexpired reentry permit issued to him, and (A) such application was made within one hundred and twenty days of the date of issuance of the visa or other document, or in the case of an alien in possession of a reentry permit, within one hundred and twenty days of the date on which the alien was last examined and admitted by the Service, or (B) in the event the appli cation was made later than one hundred and twenty days of the date of issuance of the visa or other document or such examination and admission, if the owner or owners of such vessel or aircraft established to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that the ground of exclusion could not have been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence prior to the alien's embarkation, or (3) the person claimed United States nationality or citizenship and was in possession of an unexpired United States passport issued to him by competent authority. (b) It shall be unlawful for any master, commanding officer, purser, person in charge, agent, owner, or consignee of any vessel or aircraft (1) to refuse to receive any alien (other than an alien crewman), ordered deported under this section back on board such vessel or aircraft or another vessel or aircraft owned or operated by the same interests; (2) to fail to detain any alien (other than an alien crewman) on board any such vessel, or at the airport of arrival of the aircraft when re quired by this Act or if so ordered by an immigration officer, or to fail or refuse to deliver him for medical or other inspection, or for further medical or other inspection, as and when so ordered by such officer; (3) to refuse or fail to remove him from the United States to the country whence he came; (4) to fail to pay the cost of his maintenance while being detained as required by this section or section 233 of this title; (5) to take any fee, deposit, or consideration on a contingent basis to be kept or returned in case the alien is landed or excluded; or (6) knowingly to bring to the United States any alien (other than an alien crewman) excluded or arrested and deported under any provision of law until such alien may be lawfully entitled to reapply for admission to the United States. If it shall appear to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that any such master, commanding officer, purser, person in charge, agent, owner, or consignee of any vessel or aircraft has violated any of the provisions of this section or of section 233 of this title, such master, commanding officer, purser, person in charge, agent, owner, or consignee shall pay to the collector of customs of the district in which port of arrival is situated or in which any vessel or aircraft of the line may be found, the sum of $300 for each violation. No such vessel or aircraft shall have clearance from any port of the United States while any such fine is unpaid or while the question of liability to pay any such fine is being determined, nor shall any such fine be remitted or refunded, except that clearance may be granted prior to the determination of such question upon the deposit with the collector of customs of a bond or undertaking approved by the Attorney General or a sum sufficient to cover such fine. (c) If the vessel or aircraft, by which any alien who has been ordered deported under this section arrived, has left the United States and it is impracticable to deport the alien within a reasonable time by another vessel or aircraft owned by the same person, the cost of deportation may be paid from the appropriation for the enforcement of this Act and recovered by civil suit from any owner, agent, or consignee of the vessel or aircraft. (d) The Attorney General, under such conditions as are by regulations prescribed, may stay the deportation of any alien deportable under this section, if in his judgment the testimony of such alien is necessary on behalf of the United States in the prosecution of offenders against any provision of this Act or other laws of the United States. The cost of maintenance of any person so detained resulting from a stay of deportation under this subsection and a witness fee in the sum of $1 per day for each day such person is so detained may be paid from the appropriation for the enforcement of this title. Such alien may be released under bond in the penalty of 8 U.S.C. 1228. not less than $500 with security approved by the Attorney General on condition that such alien shall be produced when required as a witness and for deportation, and on such other conditions as the Attorney General may prescribe. (e) Upon the certificate of an examining medical officer to the effect that an alien ordered to be excluded and deported under this section is helpless from sickness or mental and physical disability, or infancy, if such alien is accompanied by another alien whose protection or guardianship is required by the alien ordered excluded and deported, such accompanying alien may also be excluded and deported, and the master, commanding officer, agent, owner, or consignee of the vessel or aircraft in which such alien and accompanying alien arrived in the United States shall be required to return the accompanying alien in the same manner as other aliens denied admission and ordered deported under this section. ENTRY THROUGH OR FROM FOREIGN CONTIGUOUS TERRITORY SEC. 238. (a) The Attorney General shall have power to enter into contracts with transportation lines for the entry and inspection of aliens coming to the United States through foreign contiguous territory or through adjacent islands. In prescribing rules and regulations and making contracts for the entry and inspection of aliens applying for admission through foreign contiguous territory or through adjacent islands, due care shall be exercised to avoid any discriminatory action in favor of transportation companies transporting to such territory or islands aliens destined to the United States, and all such transportation companies shall be required, as a condition precedent to the inspection or examination under such rules and contracts at the ports of such contiguous territory or such adjacent islands of aliens brought thereto by them, to enter into a contract which will require them to submit to and comply with all the requirements of this Act which would apply were they bringing such aliens directly to ports of the United States. (b) The Attorney General shall have power to enter into contracts with transportation lines for the entry and inspection of aliens coming to the United States from foreign contiguous territory or from adjacent islands. No such transportation line shall be allowed to land any such alien in the United States until and unless it has entered into any such contracts which may be required by the Attorney General. (c) Every transportation line engaged in carrying alien passengers for hire to the United States from foreign contiguous territory or from adjacent islands shall provide and maintain at its expense suitable land ing stations, approved by the Attorney General, conviently located at the point or points of entry. No such transportation line shall be allowed to land any alien passengers in the United States until such landing stations are provided, and unless such stations are thereafter maintained to the satisfaction of the Attorney General. (d) The Attorney General shall have power to enter into contracts including bonding agreements with transportation lines to guarantee the passage through the United States in immediate and continuous transit of aliens destined to foreign countries. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, such aliens may not have their classification changed under section 248. (e) As used in this section the terms "transportation line" and "transportation company" include, but are not limited to, the owner, charterer, consignee, or authorized agent operating any vessel or aircraft bringing aliens to the United States, to foreign contiguous territory, or to adjacent islands. DESIGNATION OF PORTS OF ENTRY FOR ALIENS ARRIVING BY CIVIL AIRCRAFT SEC. 239. The Attorney General is authorized (1) by 8 U.S.C. 1229. regulation to designate as ports of entry for aliens arriving by aircraft any of the ports of entry for civil aircraft designated as such in accordance with law; (2) by regulation to provide such reasonable requirements for aircraft in civil air navigation with respect to giving notice of intention to land in advance of landing, or notice of landing, as shall be deemed necessary for purposes of administration and enforcement of this Act; and (3) by regulation to provide for the application to civil air navigation of the provisions of this Act where not expressly so provided in this Act to such extent and upon such conditions as he deems necessary. Any person who violates any regulation made under this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of $500 which may be remitted or mitigated by the Attorney General in accordance with such proceedings as the Attorney General shall by regulation prescribe. In case the violation is by the owner or person in command of the aircraft, the penalty shall be a lien upon the aircraft, and such aircraft may be libeled therefor in the appropriate United States court. The determination by the Attorney General and remission or mitigation of the civil penalty shall be final. In case the violation is by the owner or person in command of the aircraft, the penalty shall be a lien upon the aircraft and may be collected by proceedings in rem which shall conform as nearly as may be to civil suits in admiralty. The Supreme Court of the United States, and under its direction other courts of the United States, are authorized to prescribe rules |