Was Ellis Island Was A Myth?

Question

Euro-Americans who oppose illegal immigration always say that "my family came legally through Ellis Island". And also that they came here to work and committed no crimes like the Mexicans are.

The truth is many of those families who came through Ellis Island would today be considered ILLEGAL. Many were stowaways or fell through the legal cracks. They had to be sponsored by someone in the U.S. and many just got off the boat, and hid away.

Also many like the Italians faced discrimination in America, so they turned to murder, racketeering, and organized crime which is known as the mafia. Does all this sound familiar??

Answer 1

Well, if you believe Ellis Island was a myth, I imagine you probably and tragically believe the same about the Holocaust.

Answer 2

Are you implying that once they got off the boat many swam to New York City to avoid screening by the immigration /customs officers on the island?

To answer your question, it was a different time and a different place but they all went through an in-person screening where a government representative decided if they should return. If there was doubt, they were quarantined on Ellis or Governer's and investigated further. Some did hide and eventually escaped the island but that wasn't common. I'm going out on a limb and saying it wasn't 700,000 per year that did this.

Many did not have proper papers but it was the height of the industrial revolution and we needed as many laborers as we could get. The uneducated could still easily obtain decent work.

The government in those days did not provide free emergency health care, or food to children. There was no uninsured motorist premiums. Schools didn't teach English as a second language. In other words it cost the government zero to support these people. Many charitable organizations did provide for them however and citizens VOLUNTARILY made contributions.

The percentage of Italians that were criminals was much less than today's ILLEGAL immigrant mainly because there was no massive drug problem from Mexican drug cartels.

Answer 3

Dylan, Unfortunately the myth that names were changed at Ellis Island persists even though there is no evidence for it. The manifests you see for ship arrivals were filled in before the ships even sailed to the United States. Ellis Island had interpreters present during the entry process and there was no reason for anyone there to change the name of a person. Do the research on this. Have you found your ancestors on those ship manifests? When did they enter this country? Did they ever become naturalized and do you have the papers? The ship manifests, especially after 1905, and the naturalization papers, would provide you clues as to where the family came from. Have you researched collateral members (siblings who had the same last name) to see if those papers exist? If you give us more information on the first Siegelman that came to the U.S. and an idea of the year of entry, and the area they eventually lived in, we can answer your question with more information. Have you found them on the 1900/1910/1920/1930 US Censuses? Some of those asked what year they came to the US and when or if they became naturalized. But saying that the name was changed, is not based on any facts.

Answer 4

You need to really get some fact straight. No on most people who came through Ellis were Illegal. They went through every step the US government set up to become a US resident that is why they were at a US government facility. If they were a stowaway it really would not matter if they got to Ellis Island and the government agent approved them they are legal. You could of "swum" from Europe and if the government processed you through you were legal. Many did not hide to get in when they got to Ellis, it was a very controlled environment and thus very few could of slipped through. Many were so scared of the US imigration officials that they would of never attempted anything to jeopardize their dream of becoming a citizen, if you ask anyone who went through that process as I have you would of seen that.
Also yes Italians did face much discrimination in america especilly if they were southern italians who wer more likely to be poorer than a northern italian whose looks also made them appear more like northern europeans than the more olive skinned southern italian. But to say that many turned to murder and other crimes is racist. 99% of Italians followed the rules and lived with any oppression they might have felt because being in the US was far better than the poverty they had back in Italy. You have read to many fiction books on the mob thinking that all Italians joined up or knew someone in the MOB. In can assure you I know plenty of Italian families and none can identify a mobster they have come across in their normal life.

Answer 5

No, it's a documented fact. However, laws do change over time, and as a democracy, we have the right to change our laws based on what we think is in our best interest. Yes, there was a time when if you showed up in NY harbor saying, I need a job and want to work, folks would simply say, "Welcome to America." Now, of course the same person would be called an illegal economic migrant. Actually, immigration laws evolved out of emotional reactions to Chinese immigration in the 19th century. People thought it would be nice to have them work on the railroads, and brought them in by the thousands, but then they should go home. Didn't happen. The founding fathers never thought that Chinese people would want to come here, so there was no law against it at the time. Of course, we didn't have a Pacific Coast at the time either. So, what to do? Pass laws restricting Chinese immigration. Then later in the 19th and early 20th Century millions of Italians and Eastern European Jews and others came in. That was the Ellis Island heyday. Did we want so many people coming in with different religions and values? Well, lots of people didn't at the time. And folks worried a lot about crime and disease brought in by immigrants back then. But, then came WW1 and later the Depression. Times changed and we didn't need some many new people all at once. No great open spaces, no great need for lots of workers and lots of unemployed Americans looking for work. Perhaps, that sounds familiar as well. So, immigration laws were passed making it more restrictive and difficult. For what it is worth, the US still takes in more immigrants, legal and illegal, than any other country in the world. No one else even comes close.

Answer 6

Actually, many of the immigrants who came through Ellis Island were NOT illegal. There were few stowaways, and every person who entered through Ellis Island had to go through a legal and medical inspection before entering the country. If they failed either of these inspections, they could be deported or, if it was a medical problem, they could be admitted to the Public Health Service hospital located on the south side of Ellis Island (currently closed to the public, but restoration is underway).

Where did you get your "facts"?

Answer 7

You don't even have a clue about Ellis Island. My dad passed through there at age 7 with his mom and little sister.
People were put into quarantine and sprayed down for bugs.
I can't even imagine how someone could stow away in the cramped quarters and not be a rressted when the boats docked.
There was tight security and nobody got through unless they let you in.
What is wrong with having a sponser?
It is also very racist to suggest that all of the Italians joined the Mafia,just plain dumb to say.

Answer 8

It was not a myth. Did you know that it only processed about 70% of the immigrants coming in, there were 30 other processing stations opened by the government. The wealthy immigrants automatically gained entry. Those who were not well off and did not travel 1st or 2nd class had to go through physical examinations, and questioning. So you see that even back then it was easier for some, and not so easy for those that really needed to try and be here. History repeats itself over and over again. Different issues, but it all boils to being the same argument. This is not a land of equal oppurtunities, and it has always been that way. Why do you think that some risk life and limb to be here. It happened back then, and it is still happening today.

Answer 9

you have this wrong. ellis island was the screening station. many were sent back home for the same reason now that a legal app would be turned down.

all big waves of immigrants had problems but many worked twice as hard to succeed. the diff is the mex do not want to follow our rules in our language. they do not want assimilate.

i am hispanic american and mexicans give american hispanis a bad name.

mexicans have been flooding us forever. do you see boatloads of illegal italians?


btw ellis island has an online interactive site.
not everyone went through there. my ancestors did not.

we came in via fl and hispaniola settle the US sw under the order of spain and when that became us territory those people the french, the cajuns spaniards all became americans!


we americans really do suck at history. all one has to do is read online.
go to www.usa.gov do some reading.

Answer 10

I disagree. When you say it was a "myth", that turns it into a fairy tale. Ellis Island was a real place with VERY real criteria for immigration. Thousands of people were turned AWAY from that place because they were diseased, incompetent, unable to support themselves, etc. etc. etc.

I think we should have Ellis Island REBORN, with the SAME criteria for immigration.

Also, I am interested in your statement "many were stowaways or fell through the legal cracks"... is this your personal opinion? If it is a fact, I would be VERY interested in seeing FACTUAL CITATIONS to this effect.

And finally, you said: "They had to be sponsored by someone in the U.S. and many just got off the boat, and hid away."

That's more than we have today. If all the illegals coming over TODAY were "sponsored" by family/friends, our WELFARE ROLLS wouldn't be BULGING with people who come over here JUST for the purpose of getting a free ride on welfare... or these pregnant women who literally DRAG themselves across the border so that their children are born on THIS side of the border... or the "professional incubators" who turn out a baby every year or two because their monthly check would be increased!

Ah, yes... for your information, "The Mafia" is NOT unique to the US. The ROOTS of the Mafia date back over a THOUSAND years... here's a link to some good, BASIC information which is SIMPLY worded (sarcasm intended): http://users.aol.com/whizkid01/hist.html

Now let's talk about TRUTH rather than OPINION, shall we?

(Harley steps down from soapbox, brushes herself off, and steps back into the shadows...)

Answer 11

The law is not retroactive. People who came through Ellis, including my grandfather, obeyed the laws of the time.

Regarding that last part about Italians turning to crime. When my grandfather died last week at 95 he did so having never committed a crime. He raised two children through a depression and a world war. He couldn't serve in the military during the war so he worked 16 hour days in a defense plant, coughing up black graphite dust at the end of his shift. Regarding your stereotypes about Italians, and I mean this with all sincerity, f_ck you.