Immigration and Health Policies in the 20th Century

Immigration and Health Policies in the 20th Century

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" (Lazarus 1998)

When you think of people struck by unbelievable hardships and misery, it might not be so hard to believe that a part of their soul dies with each passing day. But one should know that even if you experience the worst imaginable disaster and survive, there still exists a small light of hope in your mind. Without this light, it would be impossible to live on. So in a corner of every human being's mind, especially of those who came to leave their countries during the 20th-century, there existed a hope of something better - something new and permanent.

Their hope was to wake up every morning and see the sun rise over the American continent, watch it color the sky and spread its golden light throughout a nation of millions of people, offering them a bright future of new opportunities, but also to see the sunset and to know that they would be there the next morning. Their dreams would be a reality. They would no longer be unobtainable goals (Magnusson 2001).

The European immigrants' dream wasn't a new one. It was something that had grown into a concept, which till this day has enthralled people for centuries and probably will do so for many more. This dream which had sprung from the depth of their sufferings finally made millions of brave-minded people set out from their native countries, without knowing what was to come (Magnusson 2001).

These people of so many different nationalities joined together in an exodus stronger than most, with only their beliefs of the good faith of God to hold on to. They unconditionally let their lives become caught up in a dream more powerful than most, a dream that would bring them across the ocean to set their poor feet on the shores of the country of dreams. And as they did approach the harbor of New York and the view of the Statue of Liberty holding up its torch, there was nothing that could stop the tears from flowing down their cheeks (Magnusson 2001).

However, now the situation was different; the meaning of their tears had changed as their minds filled with joy - and smiles spread across their once sad faces. Even so, though their futures seemed so bright, their fates hadn't changed completely. There were still many fears to overcome and hardships to conquer. But these were probably nothing compared to the ones they had earlier experienced, as their faith once more rose from a small corner in their minds.

Parents diligently fought for a more agreeable future for their children and their grandchildren yet to come, all while struggling to keep their unifying traditions alive (Magnusson 2001). The generations to come blended the American beliefs with the ones from the distant countries on the other side of the Atlantic. Together these traditions formed the American culture of today, and the grandchildren of the immigrants truly fulfilled their ancestors' hopes, as they not only became true Americans in their hearts and souls but also in the eyes of the nation they had come to love.

Located in the upper New York Bay, a short distance from the New Jersey shore, Ellis Island was originally known to Native Americans as Kioshk, or Gull Island, named for the birds that were its only inhabitants (The Immigrant Journey 1995). Consisting of nothing more than three acres of soft mud and clay, it was so low that it barely rose above the high-tide level of the bay. The Dutch called it "Little Oyster Island," because of the delicious oysters found in its sands, and used it as a base for oystering. Because the island was not good for much other than its oysters - certainly it was not a prime building site - it changed independent ownership many times during the next century (The Immigrant Journey 1995). By means never officially determined, ownership passed into the hands of one Samuel Ellis about the time of the American Revolution. Ellis tried, unsuccessfully, to sell the island. He still owned the island when he died in 1794 (The Immigrant Journey 1995). On April 21, 1794, the city formally deeded the only part of the island that was publicly owned, a narrow strip of mud between the water and the high-tide mark, to the state. Samuel Ellis had actually drawn up a deed transferring ownership of his island to the state, but died before the deed could be completed (The Immigrant Journey 1995).

On June 8, 1808, the state of New York bought Ellis Island at the committee's recommended price, and was immediately reimbursed when the federal government took possession of the island on the same day. It was used only to store ammunition until, in 1890, it was chosen by the House committee on Immigration as the site of the new immigrant Station for the Port of New York (The Immigrant Journey 1995).

Personnel included immigration officers, interpreters, clerks, guards, matrons, gatekeepers, watchmen, and cooks, as well as maintenance staff such as engineers, firemen, painters, and gardeners. The huge medical staff numbered scores of doctors, nurses, and orderlies (The Immigrant Journey 1995). The number of employees varied with the number of incoming immigrants; the average staff ranged between five hundred and eight hundred-fifty people. Often, as immigration increased, the need was greater than the number of employees available. Most workers commuted to the island by ferryboat from Manhattan.

As superior as the new facilities were in comparison to the old accommodations, immigrants now faced stricter laws than ever before. A more comprehensive immigration law had been passed in the spring of 1891. In addition to the previously established categories of "undesirables," inspectors now also screened for polygamists, people with prison records for crimes involving "moral turpitude" and all "persons suffering from a loathsome or contagious disease" (The Immigrant Journey 1995). The Contract Labor Law of 1885 was stiffened to exclude immigrants who were entering the country at the encouragement of American employers; it was even illegal for American employers to advertise. While steamship companies had previously been held responsible for screening their passengers before leaving Europe, now they were also made responsible for returning deportees to their homeland and for the cost of their food and lodging while they were in detention here. Aliens who entered the country illegally or became public charges within a year of their arrival due to some preexisting condition before they landed were to be deported. Additional amendments were added to the law in 1893 (The Immigrant Journey 1995). The combination of this stricter law, a cholera scare in 1892, and the financial panic of 1893, followed by several years of economic depression, began to show its effect. The number of immigrants arriving in New York consistently decreased until the turn of the century. In 1892, Ellis Island welcomed 445,987 incoming foreigners; in contrast only 178,748 immigrants passed through the station in 1898 (The Immigrant Journey 1995).

On June 15, 1897, with two hundred immigrants on the island, a fire breaks out in one of the towers in the main building and the roof collapses. Though no one is killed, all immigration records dating back to 1840 and the Castle Garden era are destroyed. The Immigration Station is relocated to the Barge Office in Battery Park in Manhattan (Fuchs 1995).

On December 17, 1900, the New York Tribune offered a scathing account of conditions at the Battery station including "grimy, gloomy...more suggestive of an enclosure for animals than a receiving station for prospective citizens of the United States" (Fuchs 1995).

In response to this, New York architectural firm Boring & Tilton reconstructs the immigrant station and the new, fire proofed facility is officially opened in December as 2,251 people pass through on opening day. To prevent a similar situation from occurring again, Commissioner of Immigration William Williams cleans house on Ellis Island in 1902 - he awards contracts based on merit and announces contracts will be revoked if any dishonesty is suspected. He imposes penalties for any violation of this rule and posts "Kindness and Consideration" signs as reminders (The Immigrant Journey 1995).

On April 17, 1907, an all time daily high of 11,747 immigrants received is reached. Ellis Island experiences its highest number of immigrants received in a single year, with 1,004,756 arrivals. Federal law is passed excluding persons having physical and mental defects as well as children arriving without adults (The Immigrant Journey 1995).

Starting in 1917, Ellis Island operates as a hospital for the Army, a way station for Navy personnel and a detention center for enemy aliens. The literacy test is introduced at this time, and stays on the books until 1952. Those over the age of sixteen who cannot read thirty to forty test words in their own language will not be admitted through Ellis Island. Asian immigrants are nearly all banned (Fuchs 1995).

The first Immigration Quota Law is passed by Congress in 1921 after booming post-war immigration results in 590,971 people passing through Ellis Island. Only three percent of an ethnic group living in the U.S. In 1910 will be allowed to enter the country in a year. With the Immigration Act of 1924 restricting further immigration, the annual quota of immigrants reduces to 164,000 (Fuchs 1995). The buildings on Ellis Island begin to fall into neglect and abandonment. America is experiencing the end of mass immigration.

In 1929, The National Origins Act is passed, banning immigrants from East Asia. It also decreases the quota of European immigration to two percent of the figures recorded in the 1890 census. The passage of the Internal Security Act of 1950 excludes arriving aliens with previous links to Communist and Fascist organizations (Vecoli 1996). With this, Ellis Island experiences a brief resurgence in activity. Renovations and repairs are made in an effort to accommodate detainees, sometimes numbering 1,500 at a time.

The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952, and a liberalized detention policy, results in the number of detainees on the island to plummet to less than thirty. Ellis Island is formally placed under the jurisdiction of the General Services Administration from 1954 to 1964, and all thirty-three structures on the island are officially closed in November 1954 (Fuchs 1995).

Immigrants built the United States, many seeking a new life in a new land. Before 1882, anyone could move to the United States (Fuchs 1995). But as the population grew, the federal government decided to control immigration. Throughout most of the twentieth century, the federal government has fine-tuned its immigration policies to answer specific concerns of its citizens. In recent years, an increasing number of Americans have come to believe that immigrants are overwhelming the country, and they have asked policymakers to create laws that discourage both legal and illegal immigration (Vecoli 1996).

Responding to this demand, in 1996 President Bill Clinton signed into law three bills that may have broad impact on immigration control and immigrants' rights in the United States (U.S. Immigration Policy 1999). The controversy surrounding this and other policies has made immigration one of the most divisive public policy issues of the decade.

The United States was founded and settled by immigrants. At first, the country was open to anyone wishing to make a new start. Many came to America to escape war, poverty, famine, or religious persecution. Some came seeking fortune and others were brought against their will to work as slaves. These and other factors resulted in a large-scale influx of immigrants to the United States from around the world (U.S. Immigration Policy 1999).

Early immigration laws aimed to preserve the racial, religious, and ethnic composition of the United States, which was then largely European. The first immigration laws were aimed at nonwhites. In 1929, Congress passed the National Origins Act, which set an annual quota of 150,000 immigrants, only thirty percent of which could come from southern and eastern Europe (U.S. Immigration Policy 1995).

The Immigration Act of 1965 represented a major reform of all previous immigration laws. It abolished quotas that discriminated against nationalities, substituting an overall limit of 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 immigrants from the Western Hemisphere (Fuchs 1995). The effects of the 1965 law are still being felt today. Before 1965, the United States had been a safe haven from poverty and civil war for masses of people in neighboring countries, such as Mexico. By limiting the number of immigrants from Latin America, the Immigration Act of 1965 touched off a serious illegal immigration problem (U.S. Immigration Policy 1995).

During the later part of the twentieth century, U.S. immigration policy has addressed specific modern-day problems. In some instances, the federal government has set limits on the number of immigrants -- who fall into certain classifications, such as refugee -- who are allowed to reside in the country. The Refugee Act of 1980 legally defined a refugee as someone who flees a country because of persecution "on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion" (U.S. Immigration Policy 1995). The act allows the president to admit refugees in a time of emergency and also places a limit on the number of refugees allowed to enter.

In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which was designed to stop the flow of illegal immigrants from Latin America by imposing sanctions against employers who hire illegal aliens (Vecoli 1996). In 1990, the Immigration Act increased the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States by nearly forty percent. Finally, in 1996, Congress passed three bills, including the 1996 Immigration Act, that will affect not only immigration control, as many previous laws sought to dictate, but also immigrants' rights in the United States today (U.S. Immigration Policy 1995).