Ellis Island
Ellis Island, in Upper New York Bay, was the gateway for over 12 million immigrants to the U.S. as the United States' busiest immigrant inspection station for over 60 years from 1892 until 1954. Ellis Island was opened January 1, 1892. The island was greatly expanded with land reclamation between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the site of Fort Gibson and later a naval magazine. The island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965 and has hosted a museum of immigration since 1990.
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.