Procedural Differences Between Ellis And Angel Island

America has a complicated history regarding immigration. As America became a more solidified country with the promise of freedom and a sense of security not many around the world could have, thousands came pouring into the US in search of a better life and future for themselves and their families’ next generations (Lee & Yung, 2010, p. 6). However, this perception ended up hurting many immigrants on their journey to becoming a US citizen. The embedded ideas of class and procedural differences between Ellis and Angel Island immigration centers built a systemic imbalance of treatment based on race and further influenced existing Americans’ perceptions of Asians for decades after the period of mass immigration. As economic instability and overall
By the first day of 1892, immigrants were passing through Ellis Island, the mark of a historical place and period in our nation’s history (Ellis Island Overview + History, n.d.). From the beginning, the US based its system on a battle of class. On the ships mainly coming from Europe, passengers who paid more (and therefore were of a “higher class”) were deemed less likely to cause legal or medical problems in America and did not have to pass through an extensive screening at Ellis Island (Ellis Island Overview + History, n.d.). Rather, they were inspected on the route to New York and immediately let into America as free citizens unless there were pressing problems such as definitive medical attention needed. Those who could not afford this cost for quicker passage into America were taken to Ellis Island for a more thorough inspection and processing, but still many were passed through in mere hours if they ran into no complications. Instead of an anticipated decline, Ellis Island faced increasing numbers of immigrants in the first few years of the 1900s, and a call for more processing regulations
They had to sneak across the border into China and embark on a ship there to get to America. However, the ratio of Korean men to women in the states soon became a problem, with few to no options to have a Korean marriage and not many choosing to have an interracial marriage. Due to arranged marriages already being the common practice in Korea, Korean Picture Brides became the new norm for many. The women ranged from 14-25 years old and usually were a decade or two younger than their prospective husbands. They were matched with the help of a matchmaker or relative and the use of pictures, letters, and other correspondence, leading to the label “Picture Brides” (Lee & Yung, 2010, p. 199-200). These two examples show just how many people would try new and extreme ways to just the possibility of freedom. Although somewhere around 90% of Asian immigrants were eventually admitted into the US, their hardships usually did not end upon finally settling somewhere. The amount of incoming Asians began to become a topic among politicians, who therefore spread the worry to