Ellis Island Gateway To America

On January 1, 1892, Ellis Island opened as a Federal immigration station. Twelve million immigrants passed through Ellis Island from 1892 to 1954. Immigration increased after 1900, prompting the construction of more hospital buildings, dormitories, and kitchens between 1900 and 1915. Immigration decreased during World War I and the United States Navy and the Army Medical Department took control of the island to detain suspected enemy aliens before transferring them to other facilities. Ellis Island reopened to process immigrants in 1920.

Immigrants arriving with first- or second-class tickets were processed through customs when they disembarked at the Hudson or East River piers. Immigrants who arrived with third-class or “steerage” tickets or those who showed signs of illness were processed through Ellis Island. Harbor ferries brought the immigrants from their steamships to the island. After employees pinned identifying information to their clothing, the immigrants climbed the stairs to the Registry Room or Great Hall to begin the medical and legal inspection that lasted three to five hours.

Doctors examined each immigrant for contagious diseases and inspectors questioned them to determine if they might become public charges or illegal contract laborers. The immigrants were admitted, rejected, set aside for further investigation, or sent to the hospital. Approximately 2 percent of those entering the United States through Ellis Island were denied entry and 20 percent were detained on the island. Immigrants were denied entry because of disease, lack of money, or the lack of nearby relatives who would take responsibility for them. Immigrants denied entry could appeal to a Special Inquiry Board, which granted them entry if an immigrant aid society or other party would post their bond. Immigrants whose exclusion was not reversed were deported.

During World War II, Ellis Island functioned principally as a detention center for alien enemies. Before the United States’ official entry into the war, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) operated an immigration station on the island at which alien enemies and noncombatants were detained before repatriation or transport to other facilities. Approximately 7,000 German, Italian, and Japanese aliens and United States citizens were detained on Ellis Island by 1946.

Immigration laws, such as the Quota Laws of 1921 and the National Origins Act of 1924, and changing immigration practices reduced immigration and the need for Ellis Island. After World War I, the United States opened embassies and consulates abroad where immigrants could apply for visas and undergo medical inspections. Ellis Island primarily functioned as an INS detention facility after 1924. The INS moved its offices from Ellis Island to Manhattan and the island was closed on November 9, 1954.

President Lyndon B. Johnson incorporated Ellis Island into the National Parks Service as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965. After being open to the public in a limited way from 1976 to 1984, an 8-year, $166 million renovation project funded by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. and the National Parks Service restored the Main Building to its 1918-1924 appearance and transformed it into a museum.

The 1,000 square foot Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened in 1990. The museum houses self-guided exhibits of clothing, passports, photos, and multi-media displays that document the immigrant experience. The museum also houses the Wall of Honor, which contains over 700,000 names of immigrants who passed through Ellis Island. The American Family Immigration History Center opened in 2001 and includes multimedia and printed materials that help visitors to investigate their family immigration history with professional assistance. Over 2 million visitors tour the museum each year.

A History of Immigration

Ellis Island Official National Parks Service Page

History of the Immigration and Naturalization Service

Immigrants in New York

Immigrant Photos from Ellis Island

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.

Video of Immigrants at Ellis Island

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