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Throughout history, Ellis
Island has been know as Kioshk, Oyster, Dyre, Bucking and Anderson's
Island. Ellis Island is located in the upper bay just off the New Jersey
coast, near the Statue of Liberty. Through the years Ellis Island was
enlarged from its original 3.3 acres to 27.5 acres by landfill supposedly
obtained from the ballast of ships, excess earth from the construction of
the New York City subway system and elsewhere.
From 1892 to 1954, over 12
million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island. The
vast majority of immigrants were treated courteously and respectfully.
They were free to begin their new lives in America after only a few short
hours on Ellis Island. Only two percent of the arriving immigrants were
excluded from entry. The two main reasons why an immigrant would be
excluded were if a doctor diagnosed a contagious disease that would
endanger the public health or if a legal inspector thought the immigrant
was likely to become a public charge or an illegal contract laborer. |
