Ellis Island: The Dream of America
Ellis Island: The Dream of America is a work for actors and orchestra with projected images by American composer Peter Boyer, composed in 2001-02, commissioned by the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut. The work combines first-person narrations of seven immigrants who entered the United States through Ellis Island between 1910 and 1940, selected by Boyer from the Ellis Island Oral History Project, with Boyer’s original orchestral music. The work has received over 170 performances by more than 75 orchestras. A recording of the work released on the Naxos record label was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition in the 48th annual Grammy Awards. In April 2017, performances by Pacific Symphony of "Ellis Island: The Dream of America" were filmed for broadcast on PBS’ "Great Performances" series in the 2017-18 broadcast season.
Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Ultimately over twelve million immigrants were processed through the new Ellis Island Immigration Center during its years of operation. Every immigrant had to go through a thirty-second health inspection upon arrival. Only third class or steerage passengers were inspected at Ellis Island, as first and second class passengers were inspected onboard ship by medical officers at quarantine. Tens of thousands of immigrants, or one out of every five, were pulled out of line for further evaluation and screening. Half were for legal reasons, and the other half received a chalk mark on their clothing, signaling a health deficiency. These immigrants were often sent on to the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital to be detained until they recovered or were deemed too sick to enter the United States, in which case they would be sent back to their home countries. Sometimes an entire family's status could depend on the outcome of one family member's illness. In some cases, it meant that the entire family had to return home or be separated. However, nine out of ten patients who entered the hospital were eventually cured and allowed to enter the United States. The care was not free. The first few weeks of care were paid for by the steamship companies, who were responsible for the welfare of their passengers until they were cleared to land. Part of their charge was to screen immigrants before they boarded ship at the port of departure. Thus if an immigrant was not cleared to land and was "excluded" at Ellis Island, they were deported at the steamship company's expense. Immigrants could post a bond at their own expense, or petition to receive treatment for extended illnesses. Only 1% of the 12 million immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island were deported due to medical reasons.