United States Immigration Station, Angel Island
Encyclopedia
Angel Island Immigration Station was an immigrant processing facility on Angel Island, in the San Francisco Bay
. It opened in 1910 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. It is now the site of a museum. The museum and grounds were renovated and reopened to the public in February 2009. President Barack Obama
, on the day of his inauguration declared January 20 as national Angel Island Day in honor of all the immigrants who suffered long periods of detention before they were admitted to America.
, which essentially eliminated standard citizenship rights to the Chinese-Americans, and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which essentially banned all Chinese immigration. Citizenship issues arose and Angel Island, "the Ellis Island
of the West," officially opened as an immigration station in 1910 lasting through the Great Depression
until 1940 when an electrical fire burned down the administration building. Angel Island Immigration Station served as the processing center for most of the 56,113 Chinese immigrants who are recorded as immigrating or returning from vacation in China. The reason this number is so large, even though the 1882 Exclusion Act was renewed in 1892 and 1902, is because in 1924 the Johnson–Reed Act, including the National Origins Act and Immigration Act of 1924 (Asian Exclusion Act)
, limited the number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States. Asian countries were not specifically mentioned in the list of quotas. They were in the category of "All others: 1,900" out of a total of 165,000 immigrants.
The predominantly Chinese immigrants who were detained at Angel Island were not welcomed in the United States. As recounted by one detained in 1940: “When we arrived, they locked us up like criminals in compartments like the cages at the zoo.” Held in these “cages” for weeks, often months, individuals were subjected to rounds of interrogations to assess the legitimacy of their immigration applications. These interrogations were long, tiring, and stressful. Immigrants were made to recall minute details about their home and claimed relations—how many steps led up to your front door? Who lived in the third house in the second row of houses in your village? The interpreters for the proceedings may have not have spoken the particular dialect of the immigrant competently; most Chinese immigrants were from southern China at that time, many spoke Cantonese
. It was difficult to pass the interrogations, and cases were appealed many times over before one could leave the island and enter the United States. Oftentimes, successful immigrants produced elaborate instruction manuals that coached fellow detainees in passing interrogations; if anyone was caught with these manuals, they would most likely be deported.
Many of the detainees turned to poetry as expression—they spilled their emotions onto the very walls that contained them. Some of the poems are bitter and angry, others placid and contemplative; all, however, read with a heavy sadness.
Another example:
The museum grounds are open daily and one room of the barracks is open for free (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). The barracks building, except the self-guided Room 105, is available by guided tours only (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). There is a room with a 20 minute video documentary on the Angel Island Immigration Station that can be played at will.
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. It opened in 1910 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It is now the site of a museum. The museum and grounds were renovated and reopened to the public in February 2009. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, on the day of his inauguration declared January 20 as national Angel Island Day in honor of all the immigrants who suffered long periods of detention before they were admitted to America.
History
Asian immigration can be dated back to "1788 with a crew of Chinese shipbuilders, carpenters, metal workers, and sailors." The government responded to the influx of immigration by instating a series of exclusion acts. Asian immigration quotas began with the Page Act of 1875Page Act of 1875
The Page Act of 1875 was the first federal immigration law and prohibited the entry of immigrants considered "undesirable." The law classified as "undesirable" any individual from Asia who was coming to America to be a contract laborer, any Asian woman who would engage in prostitution, and all...
, which essentially eliminated standard citizenship rights to the Chinese-Americans, and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which essentially banned all Chinese immigration. Citizenship issues arose and Angel Island, "the Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
of the West," officially opened as an immigration station in 1910 lasting through the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
until 1940 when an electrical fire burned down the administration building. Angel Island Immigration Station served as the processing center for most of the 56,113 Chinese immigrants who are recorded as immigrating or returning from vacation in China. The reason this number is so large, even though the 1882 Exclusion Act was renewed in 1892 and 1902, is because in 1924 the Johnson–Reed Act, including the National Origins Act and Immigration Act of 1924 (Asian Exclusion Act)
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the National Origins Act, and Asian Exclusion Act , was a United States federal law that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already...
, limited the number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States. Asian countries were not specifically mentioned in the list of quotas. They were in the category of "All others: 1,900" out of a total of 165,000 immigrants.
Immigrant perspectives
The predominantly Chinese immigrants who were detained at Angel Island were not welcomed in the United States. As recounted by one detained in 1940: “When we arrived, they locked us up like criminals in compartments like the cages at the zoo.” Held in these “cages” for weeks, often months, individuals were subjected to rounds of interrogations to assess the legitimacy of their immigration applications. These interrogations were long, tiring, and stressful. Immigrants were made to recall minute details about their home and claimed relations—how many steps led up to your front door? Who lived in the third house in the second row of houses in your village? The interpreters for the proceedings may have not have spoken the particular dialect of the immigrant competently; most Chinese immigrants were from southern China at that time, many spoke Cantonese
Cantonese
Cantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...
. It was difficult to pass the interrogations, and cases were appealed many times over before one could leave the island and enter the United States. Oftentimes, successful immigrants produced elaborate instruction manuals that coached fellow detainees in passing interrogations; if anyone was caught with these manuals, they would most likely be deported.
Many of the detainees turned to poetry as expression—they spilled their emotions onto the very walls that contained them. Some of the poems are bitter and angry, others placid and contemplative; all, however, read with a heavy sadness.
- “America has power, but not justice.
- In prison, we were victimized as if we were guilty.
- Given no opportunity to explain, it was really brutal.
- I bow my head in reflection but there is nothing I can do.”
Another example:
- “I thoroughly hate the barbarians because they do not respect justice.
- They continually promulgate harsh laws to show off their prowess.
- They oppress the overseas Chinese and also violate treaties.
- They examine for hookworms and practice hundreds of despotic acts.”
Current implications
Angel Island Immigration station has long been overshadowed by Ellis Island although both served the same purpose. There has been major lack of awareness about Angel Island Immigration Station and the struggle of the immigrants who were detained there for days, weeks, months and in a few cases years. Most Asian American immigrants, especially from the West Coast, have at least someone in their family genealogy who has been directly or indirectly affected by the Angel Island Immigration Station.The museum grounds are open daily and one room of the barracks is open for free (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). The barracks building, except the self-guided Room 105, is available by guided tours only (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). There is a room with a 20 minute video documentary on the Angel Island Immigration Station that can be played at will.
See also
- California Alien Land Law of 1913California Alien Land Law of 1913The California Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited "aliens ineligible for citizenship" from owning land or property, but permitted three-year leases. It affected the Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Korean immigrant farmers in California. It passed thirty-five to two in the Senate and seventy-two to...
- Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (McCarran-Walter Act)
- Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
- Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986The Immigration Reform and Control Act , , also Simpson-Mazzoli Act, is an Act of Congress which reformed United States immigration law.In brief the act:* required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status....
- Immigration Act of 1990Immigration Act of 1990The Immigration Act of 1990 increased the number of legal immigrants allowed into the United States each year. It also created a lottery program that randomly assigned a number of visas. This was done to help immigrants from countries where the United States did not often grant visas...
- Tye Leung SchulzeTye Leung SchulzeTye Leung Schulze was the first Chinese American woman to cast a ballot in San Francisco on May 19, 1912. The San Francisco Call stated that she was "the first Chinese woman in the history of the world to exercise the electoral franchise." Schulze was also the first Chinese woman hired to work at...
; the first Chinese American civil servant in the United States, who worked at Angel Island
External links
- Angel Island State Park official website
- U.S. Immigration Station Tours
- Early History of the California Coast, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
- Angel Island Association – docent led guided tours/historical interpretation
- Angel Island Company, State Parks concessionaire for tours, bike rentals, and catered picnics
- History of Angel Island
- One Chinese American Family history of coming to America as documented in the Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files in the National Archives
- Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
- "made in usa: Angel Island Shhh" is a rice-sack flag installationInstallation artInstallation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
that explores the identity secrets of Chinese immigrants detained and interrogated in the United States. - The Angel Island Experience – Poetic Waves is a multimedia site which translates some poetry and gives a tour of the barracks