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.
William Williams (Commissioner of Ellis Island)
In the few years between his service as a soldier in the Spanish–American War and his appointment as Commissioner of Ellis Island, William Williams led a profitable career as a lawyer on Wall Street. In 1902, he was chosen by President Theodore Roosevelt to assume the position of commissioner of the immigration at the port of New York, with his headquarters on Ellis Island, which was the location of the U.S. Immigrant Station which served that port. Feeling that corruption at Ellis Island was interfering with national goals for immigration restriction, Roosevelt chose Williams because of their shared beliefs in the Progressive movement, their faith in science as a source of authority, and honest, efficient public service.