April 19, 2024

By Cu Fleshman

Opened in 1910, Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay was specifically designed to process immigrants from China, who were subject to entry restrictions under the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. As a result, Chinese immigrants were often detained here for murky reasons over indefinite periods of time—in some cases, as long as two years. While many immigrants processed here were from China, people from over 80 countries such as Japan, Germany, Russia, and the Philippines also passed through the station's halls.

In the restored barracks rooms, visitors to Angel Island today can see the poems carved into the walls by detainees and learn more about the station's past.

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