Is American The Mecca Of Immigration?
Written by Amanda Jentsch, Culture Editorial Assistant
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
This quote, as part of a sonnet inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, greeted nearly 12 million immigrants between 1892—when Ellis Island opened—and 1924 (Britannica, 2019).
How did Ellis Island work?
Prior to the opening of Ellis Island, individual states handled their own immigration policies. This all changed when increased political and social instability in Europe led to massive amounts of refugees seeking shelter in America.
The immigration process began before anyone even docked in the United States: on the boats. For the first and second class passengers, there was a brief inspection that only resulted in a trip to Ellis Island if they were in need of medical or legal help (Britannica, 2019).
Sound classist? Welcome to America! The assumption was that if a passenger was wealthy enough to buy a first or second class ticket, they wouldn’t present major issues requiring (costly) intervention on the government’s part. After having passed inspection, New York welcomed them at the Hudson or East River piers (Britannica, 2019).
For third-class, or steerage passengers, a three to five hour detour on Ellis Island was the norm—provided that there were no obvious medical or legal issues (Liberty Island Foundation, 2019). The immigrants underwent an interview, in which they answered 29 questions about their personal beliefs, background, future plans and their knowledge of the U.S. government.
Additionally, they also had a medical exam. This process was usually aided by interpreters. On average, each interpreter spoke six languages, but a few spoke up to 12, and one spoke 15 different languages (Talmon, 2019).
About 20 percent of all immigrants that went through Ellis Island were detained for a period of time, but only about two percent were eventually deported (Talmon, 2019).
Why did it close?
The high numbers of immigrants entering the United States was severely reduced by World War I, as well as stricter immigration laws and quotas in the 1920s (History, 2019). The island was put to use as a detainment center, a World War II military hospital and a military training center before being officially closed in 1954. Thirty years later, after the U.S. Government tried—and failed—to sell the property, Ellis Island was restored and now serves as a National Monument (History, 2019).
What is the immigration process like today?
The Immigrant and Nationality Act, enacted in 1952, governs the current United States immigration process. Each year, the president works with Congress to set a limit on how many permanent visas can be issued that year, with a maximum of 675,000 visas. However, this does not include visas granted to spouses, parents or children—under 21—of U.S. citizens (Talmon,
2019).
Other factors that can determine immigration permission include: refugee status, as dictated by the US Refugee Resettlement Process, temporary employment, other relation to U.S. citizens and nationality (Talmon, 2019).
To qualify for application for citizenship, one must have had a green card—certifying Lawful Permanent Residence (LPR)—for three to five years, dependent on the situation. Other requirements include being at least 18 years old, having lived in the U.S. continuously over their time as an LPR, passing various exams including topics like English and U.S. civics and payment of an application fee (Talmon, 2019).
Sources:
“Ellis Island History.” Liberty Ellis Foundation. 2019.
History.com Editors. “Ellis Island Closes.” History.com. 11 November 2019.
Noelle Talmon. “How the United States Immigration System Works.” American Immigration Council. 10 October 2019.
“The Twelve Grueling Steps to Legal Immigration Through Ellis Island.” Ranker.com.
The Editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica. “Ellis Island.” Britannica. 2 October 2019.