Ellis Island
During and immediately following World War II, Ellis Island was used to hold German merchant mariners and "enemy aliens"—Axis nationals detained for fear of spying, sabotage, and other fifth column activity. In December 1941, Ellis Island held 279 Japanese, 248 Germans, and 81 Italians removed from the East Coast. Unlike other wartime immigration detention stations, Ellis Island was designated as a permanent holding facility and was used to hold foreign nationals throughout the war. A total of 7,000 Germans, Italians and Japanese would be ultimately detained at Ellis Island. It was also a processing center for returning sick or wounded U.S. soldiers, and a Coast Guard training base. Ellis Island still managed to process tens of thousands of immigrants per year during this time, but many fewer than the hundreds of thousands per year who arrived before the war. After the war, immigration rapidly returned to earlier levels.
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.