ANGEL ISLAND
AND
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
Angel Island
Angel Island is the largest island in the
San Francisco Bay.
 It has a long history & has been used by
the U.S. government for many different
things.

Uses of Angel Island

During the Civil War, the U.S. government
turned the island into a fort to defend San
Francisco from a possible Confederacy
attack.
– But the attack never happened.

During the Spanish-American War (1898)
it was used as a detention camp for
captured prisoners.
A Quarantine Station
In the 1890’s Angel Island was used as a
quarantine station for ships arriving from
Asia with trade goods.
 Ships stopped at the island to be inspected
(both cargo & people) and if necessary
disinfected before coming to port in San
Francisco—prevent diseases from coming
into the country.

Ayala Cove where the quarantine station was located and
travelers waiting to be disinfected and fumigated.
During the World Wars
During both World
Wars, the island was
used as a POW
(Prisoner of War) camp.
And during WWII it was
also used as a
processing center for
the military.
Immigration Station
But Angel Island is best known as the home
of the Angel Island Immigration Station.
Angel Island Immigration Station
The Immigration Station operated from
1910 to 1940.
 It was the main entry point into the U.S.
for people arriving from the Pacific routes.

– China, Japan, Korea

More than 1 million
people were
processed at the
station.
Angel Island vs. Ellis Island
Angel Island is often called the “Ellis Island
of the West,” but this is not accurate.
 Major differences in the missions of the
two immigrant stations.
– Ellis Island welcomed immigrants into the U.S.
and the vast majority of those arriving were
process and “landed” immediately.
– On Angel Island, many immigrants (mostly the
Chinese) were NOT welcomed at all and were
allowed in the country only after strife and
struggle.
Reasons for Chinese Immigration
The Chinese were drawn to the U.S. for
many reasons:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Initially for the Gold Rush to California.
Then, to work as inexpensive laborers on
the transcontinental railroad.
Then, to work in the mines of the west.
They also came to escape dire living
conditions under their government and
later escape the Japanese invasion of
China.
Anti-Immigration
America
Many American-born
workers viewed the
Chinese laborers as
competition for jobs.
 In the 1870’s an
economic depression
hit the U.S. which
caused anti-Chinese
sentiment to increase.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
In response to public opinion, Congress
passed exclusion laws that specifically
targeted the Chinese.
 Congress issued the Chinese Exclusion Act
of 1882.

– Banned entry to the U.S. for all Chinese except
those who were U.S. citizens (born in U.S.),
children of a U.S. citizen, or a spouse of a U.S.
citizen.
– Also stated that students, teachers,
merchants, tourists, and governmental officials
were permitted.
Results of the Exclusion Act
Many Chinese
already living in the
U.S. were deported.
 This Act was
extended another
10 years in 1892
and again in 1902,
and wasn’t repealed
until 1943.

Chinese laborers legally residing in the U.S.
had to obtain certificates of residence that
offered proof of their legal status.
Overcoming Exclusion

The next major event
that affected Chinese
immigration was the
great fire that struck
San Francisco following
the 1906 earthquake.
– In the fires, all birth
certificates and
citizenship records kept
by the city were
destroyed.
The Aftermath of the Quake & Fire
Amongst all of the chaos, many Chinese
claimed that they had been born in the
U.S. and that there birth certificates had
been destroyed in the fire.
 This gave way to the “paper son” and
“paper daughter” industry for Chinese
Immigration.

“Paper Sons & Daughters”

Paper sons and daughters were individual
who attempted to immigrate to the U.S.
by claiming to be children of Chinese
American citizens with false papers.
– For a fee (very expensive!), you could buy
papers that would authenticate this claim.
Immigrants leaving ship in harbor to go to Angel Island
Immigration Station circa 1925
The U.S. Government Responds

The U.S. Immigration Service decided this
must be stopped.
– Decided to detain Chinese immigrants in order
to question them, their alleged parents,
witnesses, and other parties involved in order
to determine if their claims were valid.

Immigrants were questioned at great
length and detail.
Two immigration officers in an Angel Island office, circa 1925.
The Interrogation
Immigrants were asked for specific details
about their parents, grandparents, and
siblings.
 As well as about their life in China—their
homes, villages, etc.
 Then the same questions were asked to
the alleged parents, grandparents, etc.

If the answers
matched then
they must be
true relatives.
If they did not
match, the
prospective
immigrants
were deported.
Interrogations
could take days,
months, and in
some extreme
cases up to 2
years!!
And even then,
after all that, the
immigrant could
be denied
entrance!
Medical Examinations
Chinese immigrants were also forced to
endure extensive medical examinations.
 This could be humiliating, especially for
the women—being stripped naked,
jabbed, and examined by white doctors.
 Exams were also painful.

Coaching Papers
Paper sons and
daughters were often
given “coaching papers”
to memorize before their
interrogation at Angel
Island.
 These papers were very
detailed and usually
immigrants were given
these papers months in
advance to begin
memorizing.
 These papers were
illegal; therefore, had to
be kept secret.

Two immigration officers processing papers for one Asian man
and several Asian women, circa 1925.
Life at the Immigration Station

Waiting immigrants
were housed in
barracks separated by
sex.
– Husbands and wives
were not allowed to
see one another.

Living conditions were
harsh—crowded,
unsanitary, etc.
 Bunk
beds
stacked 3 high
and 2 across
 (70-150 people
per room).
 Bathrooms were
open.
 There was little
to no privacy!
Fears of Escape??

Detainees were held locked in the barracks
for significant amounts of time because of
Immigration Service fears that they would
escape.
– Women were allowed walks around the island
once a week.
– Men had to remain in the fenced yard—
surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards
posted in border towers who were ordered to
shoot if there were any attempts of escape.
The Faces of Angel
Island
Poetry on the
Walls

In response to the
conditions of their
detentions, many
detainees wrote poetry
on the walls that spoke
of their despair.
– Much has been
preserved, copied, and
archived today.
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 there 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 in dispelled.
Nights are long and the pillow cold; who can pity my
loneliness?
After experiencing such loneliness and sorrow,
Why not just return home to learn to plow the fields?
--author unknown, Poem 32
America has power, but not justice.
In prison, we were victimized as if we were
guilty.
Given no opportunity to explain, it was really
brutal.
I bow my head in reflection but there is
nothing I can do.
--author unknown, poem number unknown
The Chinese immigrants, like their European
counterparts, came to the U.S. in search
of new lives and prosperity. Instead they
were greeted with a detention center,
interrogations, and uncertainty.
Other “Enemy Aliens”
Although Chinese people constituted a large
number of total detainees on Angel Island,
they were not the only groups held there.
 Other Asians, South & Central Americans,
Europeans, and Australians were all
processed through the station.

– Most never spent a night there.

Japanese picture brides also constituted a
sizable group of the Pacific arrivals.
The Angel of Angel Island
Deaconess Katherine Maurer is known as
the “Angel of Angel Island”
 She was appointed in 1912 by the
Women’s Home Missionary Society to do
welfare work on behalf of the Angel Island
detainees.

– She gave English lessons, introduced people to
the American culture, provided them with
small items (towels, soap, toothbrushes/paste,
combs, etc.) and toys, books, crayons, etc. for
the children.
The End of Angel Island
Immigration Station

Complaints began to surface regarding the
safety of the buildings of the Immigration
Station—fears of fire, spreading disease,
etc.
– In the end, these fears proved true when the
Administration Building burned to the ground in
1940.

Angel Island had now been declared a
National Historic Landmark and money has
been raised (and continues to be raised) for
its restoration and preservation.
Aftermath of the electrical fire that closed
the Administration Building. Detention
barracks in background.
A Monument on the Island
Dedicated in 1979 to all those immigrants
who were detained at the immigration
station. The inscription reads:
Leaving their homes and villages, they
crossed the ocean
Only to endure confinement in these
barracks;
Conquering frontiers and barriers, they
pioneered
A new life by the Golden Gate.