Gärtner was not an illegal immigrant, since he had been brought to the United States against his will. He had not really escaped from prison because all German POWs were to be repatriated to their original homes and he was due to be sent back to his hometown in Silesia, which had been occupied by the Soviets. Moreover, as he had escaped after the war had ended, there was some question of whether he was still a prisoner of war.