
Immigrants to America Historically Arrive on Ellis Island & NYC
Author: Administrator
Date: January 10, 2025
Immigrants to America Historically Arrive on Ellis Island & NYC
IMMIGRANTS TO AMERICA HISTORICALLY ARRIVE ON ELLIS ISLAND & NEW YORK CITY
January 1, 2025 – Between 1892 and 1954, most immigrants arriving in the United States passed through New York’s Ellis Island control center. For those fleeing poverty and war, the “island of tears” was also an island of hope—and the beginning of a new life.
Arrival in America
Looking toward Manhattan, this 1930s photograph of Ellis Island shows the copper-domed towers of the main building, built in 1900 after the previous structure burned down. The ferry slip can be seen cutting into the island from the right. On the near side of the ferry slip is the hospital, and in the foreground are the administration blocks. Ellis Island was converted into an immigrant-processing center in 1892, following an 1891 law that gave the federal government control of immigration, previously in the hands of individual states. Although other cities also received immigrants, New York was the nation’s principal port of entry. During the 62 years it operated, the Ellis Island center hosted millions of immigrants on their journey to a new life. From the mid-1920s, the bulk of immigrant reception was transferred to Manhattan, and the Ellis Island center was finally closed in 1954. Following extensive restoration, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened in 1990.

The six-second check
A woman and her children are given a medical exam in this 1907 photograph. Only immigrants who had traveled in the often unsanitary conditions of third class (steerage) were subjected to the Ellis Island inspections; wealthier passengers from first and second class were presumed to not represent a health threat. Annual arrivals at Ellis Island grew from 200,000 in 1896 to 900,000 by 1905, requiring ever more doctors to perform exams. These took place after the new arrivals had deposited their luggage and undergone preliminary interviews. Although the checks were rushed, sometimes lasting only six seconds, doctors had the opportunity to observe immigrants as they climbed the stairs, identifying those who limped or suffered breathlessness. A small number would be sent to the Ellis Island hospital. Between 1896 and 1920, only a tiny proportion of immigrants were repatriated because of ill health.

New food in a new land
This image of immigrants in the Ellis Island dining room was taken around 1900. Many arrivals would have had no need to eat here, as the medical check and legal interview took between three and four hours. But for those obliged to stay in the facility to resolve problems with their application, the dining room was an important focus of daily life. An assistant commissioner’s report on conditions on the island stated that on Monday, November 19, 1906, the midday meal consisted of beef stew with potatoes, bread, and “smoked or pickled herring” for Jewish arrivals. For many internees, much of the food was an early introduction to the American diet. Italian immigrant Oreste Teglia recalled her bewilderment at encountering oatmeal on Ellis Island as a child in 1916: “I didn’t know what it was … I couldn’t get myself to eat it. So I put it on the windowsill, let the birds eat it.”
Builders of America
This unidentified family, gazing from Ellis Island to their future life in Manhattan and beyond, were photographed in 1925. By this time, opposition to immigration had resulted in laws imposing quotas on arrivals, and immigration levels declined. From 1924, only a few immigrants were arriving at Ellis Island, which would be principally used as a detention center for deportees until its eventual closure in 1954. Despite the joy many immigrants felt on being admitted into the United States, many experienced years of poverty and discrimination. Studies show that the migrant influx of the early 20th century provided the workforce essential to America’s successful transition from an agricultural to industrial economy, and many of those who arrived via Ellis Island also went on to make major contributions to America’s global brand. They include composer and lyricist Irving Berlin (from Belarus); film director Frank Capra (from Italy); cosmetician Max Factor (from Poland); author Isaac Asimov (from Russia); and New York City mayor Abraham Beame (Jewish refugee from England).
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