Introduction to Immigration

The arrivals were nervous about their upcoming inspection. In 191 I an observer wrote:
“The immigrants are in a constant turmoil of excitement until they board the ferryboats on the last lap
of their journeys. To them Ellis Island is a complicated labyrinth leading to freedom. . - - They obey
the signs, gestures and directions of the attendants as dumbly as cattle, and as patiently.'”
At the height of the immigration tide, signs at Ellis Island were written in nine languages:
English, German, Greek, Yiddish, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, and a Scandinavian (usually
Swedish) language. Interpreters stood by to ease the processing. Before he was elected mayor of New
York City. Friorello La Ciuardia, who knew Italian, German, Yiddish, French, Hungarian, and
Croatian, and who himself was the son of Italian immigrants, worked as an interpreter at Ellis Island
from 1908 to 1910. He recalled:
I never managed during the years I worked there to become callous to the mental anguish, the
disappointment and the despair I witnessed almost daily. ... At best the work was an ordeal."
La Guardia and the other interpreters questioned the immigrants as to their destinations and
political views near the end of the standard inspection. First they were herded into a mazelike registry
room where they awaited their medical exams. The doctors checked for visible physical defects: lameness,
blindness, deafness, and the most obvious mental defects. Next came the check for contagious
diseases: ringworm, leprosy, venereal diseases, and tuberculosis. Doctors marked with chalk "T.D.,"
for temporarily detained, on those having suspicious symptoms. Anastasia Stephanies recalls being
held at Ellis Island after arriving from Greece because her sister had trachoma, a contagious eye
disease:
I came in 1922. All my family came here: my mother, my sisters, and my brothers. When we came to
America, we came to Ellis Island and stayed there two weeks. My brother was in the army. He came to
pick us up but couldn't. They said, "You have to stay on Ellis Island two weeks." My youngest sister
had something in her eyes. I didn't know what was going to
happen. But the thy we could all leave the doctor said, "your sister can’t go out because
we have to take her to the hospital." My brother picked us up, but my youngest sister was taken to the
hospital. She lived forty days, but after forty days, my sister died.”
Fifteen percent of the immigrants at Ellis Island were marked with chalk for further examination.
In addition to "T.D.," another major category was "S.I.," special inquiry; usually this was for a suspected
criminal or political troublemaker. "L.P.C.," meant likely to become a public charge. Although
confusing and anxiety-provoking for immigrants, the system was remarkably efficient. At peak limes
as many as five thousand people per day were processed through Ellis Island.
Officials at Ellis Island were following laws passed by the federal government. Until 1975 there
were no restrictions on the admission of immigrants. Until in 1875 Congress responded to the marked
anti alien feeling in America and excluded criminals and prostitutes. As the result of subsequent acts