Ellis Island travel guide

One of the 40 islands in New York's waters

People who wanted to emigrate had to endure physical checkups and questioning before getting permission to continue on to Manhattan or New Jersey. The sick, single women or the politically suspect (about 2%) were sent back or interred on the island until their appeal had been heard and decided upon. The largest number arrived in the period from the 1890s until the beginning of the First World War, when about 17 million people were shunted through. The crowds were sometimes so huge that every official had to question 400 to 500 people a day, meaning that the fate of entire families were sometimes decided in a few minutes – which earned Ellis Island the name “Island of Tears”. After 1917 Ellis Island served primarily as a camp and clearance area for the deported and politically persecuted; during the Second World War it was an internment camp for foreigners.

Ellis Island travel guide by Marco Polo is this text outdated?

Latest Reviews for Ellis Island

alessandra

great place!

2008-05-13 / follow alessandra / report abuse

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