May 3, 2021

By Olivia B. Waxman
Though it’s less frequently discussed in history classes than its New York counterpart, Angel Island in San Francisco Bay was often described as the “Ellis Island of the West”—and it was there that thousands of would-be immigrants of Asian and Mexican descent were turned away, and where life in the U.S. began for the few who did enter.

A history of immigration that includes not only Ellis Island but also Angel Island can provide a better understanding of the complicated subject, and of the long U.S. tradition of welcoming certain—predominantly white—immigrant groups and making others feel unwelcome. (read more…)