How many immigrants arrived at Ellis Island, and what did they experience there?
From January 1, 1892 to November 12, 1954, more than 12,000,000 immigrants (people who permanently settle in a foreign country) arrived at Ellis Island (a 3-acre island in the New York City harbor off the southern tip of Manhattan). Known as aliens (noncitizens), these immigrants came by ship from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies. Inspectors and doctors from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) went aboard ships to process first- and second-class passengers—that is, gave them papers granting permission to enter the United States. Complete processing usually took between three and four hours. Third-class passengers were taken by ferry to Ellis Island, where they were given tags stating their names and the name of the ship on which they had arrived. Men were immediately separated from women…
