imigration

Source 3: from Waiting Out Detention

by Barbara D. Krasner

8 The rules to enter the United States were numerous and rigid. Among other requirements, immigrants had to pass medical and legal examinations; have a fixed amount of money; in certain cases, such as women traveling alone, have someone claim them; and be free of any criminal record. Failure to comply with these regulations meant immigrants could be detained.1 In that case, they had to satisfy a board of special inquiry before they could stay in America. The board, which consisted of three immigration inspectors, heard each case separately.

9 For many years, if an immigrant was detained, there was nothing he or she could do except sit and wait. If night started to fall, any immigrants still waiting were given a place to sleep in one of four large dormitories. Each dormitory could hold 400 people in steel cages: three-tiered bunk beds with just two feet between levels. Only blanketsno mattresses, sheets, or pillowswere provided.

10 During the day, if detainees wanted to get fresh air and exercise, they were permitted on the roofs of the Main Building and the Baggage and Dormitory Building (which was completed in 1909). For detained children, there was a playground with a tricycle, cart, and rocking horse.

11 In 1914, with war erupting in Europe, Ellis Islands new commissioner, Frederick C. Howe, felt it likely that immigrants would be detained even longer. It was, he believed, time for them to be treated like humans and not just as numbers.

12 Howe set up a kindergarten for the children. This later expanded to classes for older children where they could learn English. And much to the dismay of the Ellis Island groundskeepers, children were allowed to play, weather permitting, on the vast lawns.

13 Previously kept apart, men and women finally were permitted to sit together in the detainment area. Adults also could meet in specially assigned rooms for educational classes.

14 But perhaps best of all were the concerts, movies, and athletic events that were offered. On Sundays, different immigrant groups gave concerts. For example, on Italian Day, the Italian American community in New York arranged to have the famous tenor Enrico Caruso come out to Ellis Island and perform.

15 Nine-year-old John Titone from Sicily, Italy, was detained with his family at Ellis Island in 1910. He recalled, Once a week, youd go to the movies. Who could go to the movies once a week in Sicily? And Joseph Wohlberg, who came from Hungary in 1921, remembered, We were stuck on Ellis Island over the weekend, when no ferries were running. Around four oclock on Sunday afternoon they hustled us out into a courtyard where there were chairs set up. They wanted to entertain us with a vaudeville2 show. We watched magicians tricks, comic acts, singing, most of which we didnt understand.

16 During immigrations peak years, as many as 20 percent of the new arrivals were detained. Most waited a few hours or overnight, but some had to stay several days, weeks, or even months until their cases were cleared. It is on record that one immigrant in the early 1950s waited 21 months to enter the United States!