HISTORICALINVESTIGATION
PROJECTTITLE:AngelIsland,“PassingThroughtheEyeoftheImmigrationStationNeedle”1
AUTHOR:DinganiMthethwa
SCHOOL:JackJouettMiddleSchool
SCHOLARSHIP&RESEARCH
1.PrimaryInvestigativeQuestion(s)‐WhatwastheexperienceofimmigrantsintheAngel
IslandImmigrationStationbetween1910to1940?
ContextualEssay
Asindustrialgrowthhititsheightattheendofthe19thcentury,peoplefromothernations
flockedtoUnitedStatestostartnewlife.ThedemographicsintheUnitedStatesbegantoshift
fromNorthernEuropetoSouthernandEasternEurope,aswellastoAsiaandotherpartsof
world.TheU.S.struggledtodealwiththemassesthatwereknockingatitsgates.Immigration
becameahotdebateamongpoliticiansinstatesandinfederalgovernmentasmanyAmericans
demandedstrictrulesagainstimmigrants.2TheChineseExclusionActof1882wasaproductof
thatpressure.Ontheotherhand,theexistingimmigrationprocessingcentersbecame
overwhelmedbyhugenumberofimmigrants.Theybecameinefficientinhandlingtheswelling
numbersofimmigrants.IntheEastCoast,forexample,theGardenCastle,theofficeinchargeof
processingimmigrants,wasreplacedbythenewandbetterEllisIsland(1896),anditwasAngel
Island(1910)intheWestCoastthatreplaceda“detentionshed”inPier40originallyrunby
steamshipcompanies.3Thesechangesalsobecameasymbolictransferofpowerfromthestates
tofederalgovernmentinhandlingimmigrationaffairs.4JustliketheGardenCastle,EllisIsland
continuedtobethemaingateofimmigrantsfromEuropewhileAngelIslandwastheentrancein
thePacificRimforAsianimmigrants.5
1Igotthephrase“PassingThroughtheEyeoftheImmigrationStationNeedle”fromHelenZia,theauthorofAsian
AmericanDreams:TheEmergenceofanAmericanPeople,itwasinoneofherccommentsinherreviewofEricaLee
andJudyJung’sbookAngelIsland:ImmigrantGateway.(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2010)
2TocaptureAmericans’anti‐immigrantfeelingsduringthisperiod,seethecartoon,“TheImmigrant:TheStranger
atOurGate”,originallypublishedin1896bytheMagazineOurDay.Thecartoonshowsashort,skinny,sickly
immigrantlabeledwithdiseaseandpovertyaskingUncleSamifhecouldcomein,towhichUncleSamreplied,I
supposeyoucan;there'snolawtokeepyouout.”AlsoseeFrancisWalker’sarticle,“RestrictionofImmigrants”
publishedinJune1896AtlanticMagazine.TheseprimarysourcesareaccessibleonlinethroughGoogle.
3Forthehistoryoftheseimmigrationstationssee“NoLampsWereLitforThem:AngelIslandandthe
HistoriographyofAsianAmericanImmigration”,RogerDaniels,JournalofAmericanEthnicHistoryVol.17,No.1,Fall,
1997
4VincentJ.Cannato,AmericanPassage:TheHistoryofEllisIsland,(NewYork:HarperCollinsPublishers,2009).In
thisbook,Cannatodetailhowthefederalgovernmentreplacedthestatesastheregulatorsofimmigrationafter
1891.HebelievesthattheconstructionofEllisIslandwaspartlyaboutimmigration,butitwasalsopartofthestory
oftheexpansionofthefederalgovernmentandthedevelopmentoftheprogressive,bureaucraticstate.Before1891,
immigrationwashandledbystatesinwhichimmigrationprocessingcenterswerelocated.Transferringpowerof
immigrationtotheFederalgovernmentbecameapoliticalissuebecauseimmigrantstationswereproviding
revenuestostates.
5EricaLeeandJudyJung’sbookAngelIsland:ImmigrantGateway.(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2010)
TherehasbeenatendencytoviewAngelIslandasbeingequivalenttoEllisIsland,andinfactit
hasoftenbeencalledthe“EllisIslandoftheWest”.Suchgeneralizations,however,tendsto
monopolizethe“shining”imageofEllisIslandoverthenarrativesofAngelIsland.Oralevidence
andthenarrativesleftbehindbythenewcomerswhoimmigratedthroughtheAngelIsland
immigrationstationspaintedaclear,distinctidentity.UnlikeEllisIsland,whichrepresentedthe
UnitedStateswithopendoorstoimmigrants,AngelIslandseemedtorepresentAmericaasa
countrywithtwodoors:oneisopen,theotherisclosed.Onehistoryiscommonlyknownandthe
otherhasbeensuppressed.
OnereasonthatsomuchattentionhasbeenfocusedonElliIslandisthatthereweremore
immigrantswhoenteredthroughEllisIslandthanthroughAngelIsland.Anotherreasonwould
bethatAngelIslandhas“mixed”history,whichsomefolkswouldrathershoveunderthecarpet.
Today,EllisIslandremainstheiconicsymbolofUnitedStatesimmigration,andtheStatueof
LibertyappearsonbuildingsandwebsitesofU.S.DepartmentofHomelandSecurity.Thisisan
ultimateexpressionofAmerica'simageasawelcoming"nationofimmigrants."TheStatueof
LibertyisparalleledbyEmmaLazarus’spoem,whichshewrotein1882incelebrationofthe
constructionoftheStatueofLiberty.Ironically,shewrotethispoeminthesameyearthatthe
exclusivepoliciesagainsttheChineseimmigrantswerebeingdebated,whichresultedinthe
passageoftheChineseExclusionActof1882andlatertheconstructionofAngelIsland.6
IfEllisIslandrepresentsAmerica'simageasawelcoming"nationofimmigrants,"whatdoes
AngelIslandrepresentofAmerica?AColumbianUniversityhistorianwouldsayAngelIsland
representsa“historyofAmerica’sdiverseoriginsandthegovernment’sdiversepoliciesthat
welcomesomeandexcludedothers.”7Thestoriesofimmigrantswhowereprocessedthrough
AngelIslandpaintadifferentpictureofAmericafromLazarus’spoem.8WhileLazarus'spoem
paintsEllisIslandwithimagesoffreedomandredemption,thepoemscarvedbyimmigrantsin
thewallsofAngelIslandtelltheopposite.Considerthispoemleftbyanunknownauthor:"This
placeiscalledanislandofimmortals,butinfactthemountainwildernessisaprison.Onceyousee
theopennet,whythrowyourselfin?ItisonlybecauseofemptypocketsIcandonothingelse."9
remindus,thatalthoughAngelIslandwasbuiltmainlytoprocessChineseandotherAsianimmigrants,immigrants
whowentthroughthisstationcamefromallovertheworldincludingMexicans,Russians,Filipinos,Koreansand
Indians.
6ErikaLeeandJudyYungarguedthatthemovefrom“detentionshed”totheislandwasfavoredbecauseitmeant
improvinglivingconditions,butalsoitwasasecurityissue.The“detentionshed”wasinland,makingitrisky,as
immigrantshavebeenescapingtheshedenteringthecountryillegally.AngelIslandprovidedtightsecurity.Angel
Island:AmericanGetawayreviewedbyMaeNgai,inSpecialtoTheChronicle,August29,2010.
7MaeNgaiteacheshistoryatColumbiaUniversityandistheauthorof"TheLuckyOnes:OneFamilyandthe
ExtraordinaryInventionofChineseAmerica”,citedfrominternet.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi‐
bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/27/RVCQ1F1T65.DTL
8ThestoriesofimmigrantswhocamethroughAngelIslandarethesubjectofEricaLeeandJudyJung’sbookAngel
Island:ImmigrantGateway.TheAngelIslandImmigrationStationFoundationhaspostedmanyAngelIslandstories
andafewshortfilmsontheirwebsite,www.aiisf.org,under"ImmigrantVoices."
9EddieWong,theexecutivedirectoroftheAngelIslandImmigrationStationFoundationbetween1900and1940,
readimmigrants’poemswhenhespoketoMichelMartinonTellMeMorefromNPRNewsinFebruary16,2009.
TheimmigrationstationonAngelIslandcannotclaimcomparableattentiontoEllisIsland,but
itdoesofferanopportunitytoseeadifferentperspectivehowtheUnitedStateshasalways
struggledwiththeregulationofimmigration,achallengethatthecountryisstillwrestlingwith
inthe21stcentury.SowhatwastheexperienceofimmigrantsinAngelIslandImmigration
Stationduringthetimeofitsexistencefrom1910to1940?Theanswerwilldependonwhothe
immigrantswere,wheretheycamefrom,whethertheyweremaleorfemale,andwhetherthey
werewealthyorpoor.Federallawrequiredtheofficialstosiftthroughimmigrantstoseparate
thedesirablefromundesirable,buttheenforcementofthosestatuteswaslefttoofficialsatthe
immigrationprocessingstations.ThiswastrueforbothAngelandEllisIslands.10ButAngel
IslandhadonemoreclearlydefinedtaskthatEllisIslanddidnothave:toenforcethecomplex
collectionofstatutesandregulationsemanatingfromthe1882ChineseExclusionAct.Inshort,
officialsweretopreventChinesefromenteringtheUnitedStates.Thisisoneareawhere
immigrantsinAngelIslandhaddifferentexperiencesfromthoseimmigrantscomingthrough
EllisIsland.
ACanadianwoman,IvyGitlow,wasdetainedinAngelIslandin1916.11Itwouldbeassumedthat
asawhitewomanshewouldhavegonethrougheasily,butshedidnotasshewasdetainedon
AngelIslandforamonth.Theofficialsweresuspiciousthatshewasofalesbianpoetandofpoor
moralcharacter.However,theinterrogationsandlivingconditionswerebetterforherasa
whitewomencomparedtowomenofothersuspiciousnationalities.SotoShee,aChinesewoman
hadasevenyearoldsonwhenshewasdetained.Hersondiedwhileindetention,andhewas
buriedoutsidetheislandwithouthismotherbecausetheofficialsdidnotallowSotoSheeto
observeherson’sburial.HistorianRobertEricBardechronicledastoryofanotherChinese
womanimmigrantQuokSheewhospentnearlytwoyearsofdetentionfrom1916to1918.She
wasrepeatedlyinterrogated,deniedaccesstoalawyer,andisolatedfromherhusband,theonly
personsheknewinAmerica.12AlthoughtheAngelIslandofficialswerealwayssuspiciousof
womenbeingprostitutesregardlessofnationalityorrace,itwasworseforChinesewomen
becauseoftheChineseExclusionAct.AsaresultChinesewomenservedlongerperiodsinAngel
Islandasdetaineesthanmanyotherimmigrants.13Thedailyenforcementofimmigration
policiesweredrivenbyraceandgender.
Wongsaidmanyimmigrantsdidnotleavetheirnamesastheauthorsofthepoemsbecauseitwasashametobe
knownthatonewassopoortheyhadtogothroughAngelIsland.
10VincentCannato,AmericanPassage:TheHistoryofEllisIsland,(NewYork:HarperCollinsPublishers,2009).
Cannato‘sbooksummarizestheU.S.immigrationpoliciesbetween1892and1954.
11ThispointcamefrommyconversationwithJudyYungonemail.Judyistheco‐authorofAngelIsland:American
Getaway.JudysendmeacopyofaletterwrittenbyIvyGitlowtohersisterElsaaboutlivingconditionsattheAngel
Islandandshesaiditwasclean,withwhiteroom,thecolorfulpeoplesheencounteredinthedininghalls,and
comfortsofimmigrationstation.
12RobertEricBarde,ImmigrationattheGoldenGate:PassengerShips,Exclusion,andAngelIsland,(Connecticut:
PraegerPublishers,2008).Bardespendshalfofthebooklookingatprimarysourcedocumentsthatbringsthestory
ofQuokeSheealive.HeanalyzedtranscriptsoflengthyinterrogationsofQuokeSheewhowasdetainedatAngel
Islandfor20months.HeshareadifferentperspectiveofAsianimmigrationhistory.
13SeeRobertEricBarde,ImmigrationattheGoldenGate:PassengerShips,Exclusion,andAngelIsland,(Connecticut:
Praeger,2008).AndEricaLeeandJudyJung,AngelIsland:ImmigrantGateway.(NewYork:OxfordPress,2010).
ErikaLeeandJudyYungcollectedstoriesofimmigrantswhowentthroughAngelIsland.Thebookexaminesthe
Inanotherexample,aMexicanwoman,CatarinoLopezandherfamilyweredetainedinAngel
Islandandlaterdeportedbecausetheyweredeemed“likelytobecomepubliccharges”.Whilein
detentionshegavebirthtotwins.14Onewouldthinkthatshedeservedspecialtreatment,butshe
didn’t.Thereportsaidsheandherfamilymemberslookedverythin,andpresented“verypoor
appearances”.TheyweresentbacktoMexico.Inanotherexample,Koreanstudents,whocame
atthesametimeasCatarinoLopez,werediagnosedwithhookworm,amedicalconditionthatfor
manyimmigrantswasanautomaticdenial.Eventhoughthestudentshadhookwormandin
additiondidnotpossespassports,theyweresenttohospitalfortreatment.Thestudentswere
lateradmittedbecausetheyhadaspecialletterfromtheAmericanconsulinChinadescribing
theirfamilywealthandtheirstrongoppositiontoJapan,aU.S.enemyatthetime.Hereagain,the
immigrationpoliciesanditshierarchicaltreatmentofimmigrantsaccordingtoclassplayedout
indailypracticesinAngelIsland.Notonlygenderandrace,butclassandglobalpolitics
influencedthedailydecisionmakingprocessoftheAngelIslandofficials.
ThestoriesofimmigrantsalsoshowthatAmericandomesticpolicyhasbeeninmanyways
shapedbyinternationalpolitics.ThestudyofAngelIsland’shistoryisnotonlyaboutwhowas
cominginandwhowasdenied,butitprovidesalensthroughwhichonecanviewAmerica’srole
intheglobalpolitics.ThisisnottosaythatAngelIslandshouldclaimcomparableattentionto
EllisIsland,butitmeansthatthestoryofAngelIslandcanrevealthehistoryofUnitedStateson
manyissuesincludinghowtheUnitedStateswasdealingwithforeigncountriesduringtimesof
warandtimesofpeace.TheimmigrantswhocamethroughAngelIslandintheyearsbetween
1910through1940werecaught‐upinthewebofpoliticalstruggleswhentheUnitedStateswas
searchingforitsidentityathome,andseekingbothpoliticalandeconomicglobalpowerabroad.
Infact,thehistoryofAngelIslandisprofoundlypertinenttopresent‐dayimmigrationgridlock:
howdowepreservethehighcharacterofAmericancitizenship.
greatdiversityofUnitedStatesimmigrationpolicyinAngelIsland.TherearestoriesnotonlyoftheChinese,but
Japanese,Russians,Jews,Koreans,FilipinoandMexicanfamilies.Moreespecially,thebookcoverswomen’s
experienceindetail.
14ThestoriesofCatarinoLopezandKoreanstudentsarechronicledinEricaLeeandJudyJung,AngelIsland:
ImmigrantGateway.(NewYork:OxfordPress,2010).