Jr. Scholastic September 21, 1998

Phase 1: Medical Inspection “Six second physicals” Doctors “checked” each immigrant for signs of physical or mental illness Marked with chalk if problems suspected H – Heart problem L – Lameness X – Mental defects

"My sister developed warts on the back of her hand so they put a chalk 'X' on the back of her coat. The Xs were put aside to see whether they had to be reexamined or deported. If they deported my sister we couldn't let her go. Where would she go if they deported her? Some kind man, I don't know who he was, told my sister to turn her coat around. She had a nice plush coat with a silk lining, and they turned her coat around.“ Victoria Saifatti Fernández, a Macedonian immigrant in 1916

"They asked us questions. 'How much is two and one "They asked us questions. 'How much is two and one? How much is two and two?' But the next young girl, also from our city, went and they asked her, 'How do you wash stairs, from the top or from the bottom?' She says, 'I don't come to America to wash stairs.'“ Pauline Notkoff, a Polish Jewish immigrant in 1917

28 seconds

18 seconds

20 seconds

The Registry Room

"At Ellis Island there was nothing to do. You just had to sit around "At Ellis Island there was nothing to do. You just had to sit around. You could walk up and down among the crowds and wait for the man to come with chewing gum or an apple, but you couldn't go anyplace…. Even prisoners go out into the yard. But we were kept in a place that was all enclosed. I could walk up and down, back and forth, and up and down, and back and forth. That was the extent of my exercise.“ Ettie Glaser, English, at Ellis Island in 1923, age 18

The Registry Room

The Registry Room

Phase 2: Interview What is your name? How old are you? Where were you born? Are you married or single? What work do you do? Do you have a job waiting for you here? Who paid your passage here? Is anyone meeting you here? Where are you going? Can you read and write? Have you ever been in prison? How much money do you have? Show it to me. Where did you get it? Have you ever been deported?