Angel Island Immigration Station

Angel Island Immigration Station What is Angel Island? A processing and detainment center for thousands of immigrants between 1910-1940 Most immigrants arrived from Asia

Detainees experienced overcrowded facilities, humiliating medical examinations, interrogations, and waiting for approval or deportation Over 30 years about 1 million people (entering and leaving) were processed -Detainees experienced overcrowded facilities, humiliating medical examinations, interrogations, and waiting for approval or deportation. Over 30 years about 1 million people (entering and leaving) were processed

About 175,000 Chinese immigrants and 150,000 Japanese immigrants were processed Some immigrants stayed overnight, while others stayed for months The longest recorded stay was about 2 years

                                                                                                                                                                                                Aerial view of Immigration Station.  Administration Building in foreground, detention barracks on right, hospital to the left, and Julia Morgan-designed employee cottages at the top of the photo. Source: California Department of Parks and Recreation

                                                                                           Panoramic photo of the Angel Island Immigration Station c. 1915, including the dock, the arrival point for detainees brought from San Francisco.  Photo source: Library of Congress.

Photo source: National Archives                                                                             On route to America. Photo source: National Archives

                                                                                                Group of Japanese women standing in a line on an immigration ship circa 1925.

                                                                                              Immigrants leaving ship in harbor to go to Angel Island Immigration Station circa 1925

                                                                                View of the Immigration Station Administration Building from the dock, probably in the 1920s (based on size of palm trees). Source: California State Library

Japanese picture brides arriving at Immigration Station                                              Japanese picture brides arriving at Immigration Station

            Detainee barracks at the Angel Island Immigration Station. (Angel Island Foundation)

Men's Barracks, Immigration Station                                                                                                                                                                                             Men's Barracks, Immigration Station

Poetry Living conditions became a frustration for immigrants Immigrants became prisoners under lock and key 24 hours a day, The most visible and durable testimony to their suffering are the famous poems, some written, some carved with a classical Cantonese technique into the wooden walls of the barracks.

The most visible testimony to their suffering are the famous poems, some written, some carved into the wooden walls of the barracks.

From the walls of Angel Island Immigration Station, author unknown, Poem 32 from Island, p. 68. Imprisoned in the wooden building day after day, My freedom is withheld; how can I bear to talk about it? I look to see who is happy but they only sit quietly. I am anxious and depressed and cannot fall asleep. The days are long and bottle constantly empty;

My sad mood even so is not dispelled My sad mood even so is not dispelled. Nights are long and the pillow cold; who can pity my loneliness? After experiencing such loneliness and sorrow, Why not just return home and learn to plow the fields?

                                                                                           Physical exams at Angel Island. After being assigned a barrack and bunk, new arrivals underwent a medical examination shortly after reaching the island. Unfamiliar with the language, customs, and Western medical procedures, the examination was often characterized by newcomers as humiliating and barbaric. Photo Sources: (above) National Archives

                                                                                                                                                                                                Katharine Maurer with Asian immigrants in Administration Building waiting room

                                                                                Angel Island Interrogation Sessions. Interrogations were conducted by two immigration inspectors and a stenographer. A government interpreter translated the questions and responses, which were typed into an applicant's file during the sessions. Photo Source: (above) National Archives  

Interrogations Personal history was asked to establish that entry claims were legitimate Some typical questions were – How many windows did your house have? How many steps to your house? Many questions were answered incorrectly, so there was ample reason to deport them

                                                                                            Two immigration officers processing papers for one Asian man and several Asian women, circa 1925.

Travelers arriving at Ayala Cove for quarantine.                                                         Travelers arriving at Ayala Cove for quarantine.  Photo courtesy National Maritime Museum

Waiting on the hospital steps at Angel Island.                                                                     Waiting on the hospital steps at Angel Island. Photo Source: National Archives.

Three Chinese women in traditional clothing at Angel Island                                                                Three Chinese women in traditional clothing at Angel Island

                                                                                                 Angel Island State Park today - beyond the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay. Photo Source: The Angel Island Home Page at the University of California at Berkeley.