In 1905, construction of an Immigration Station began in the area known as China Cove. Surrounded by public controversy from its inception, the station was finally put into operation in 1910. Although it was billed as the "Ellis Island of the West", within the Immigration Service it was known as "The Guardian of the Western Gate" and was designed control the flow of Chinese into the country, who were officially not welcome with the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

This facility was primarily a detention center.  Beginning with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, a series of restrictive laws had prohibited the immigration of certain nationalities and social classes of Asians. Although all Asians were affected, the greatest impact was on the Chinese. 

The first Chinese entered California in 1848, and within a few years, thousands more came, lured by the promise of Gam Sann or "Gold Mountain". Soon, discriminatory legislation forced them out of the gold fields and into low-paying, menial jobs. They laid tracks for the Central Pacific Railroad, reclaimed swamp land in the Sacramento delta, developed shrimp and abalone fisheries, and provided cheap labor wherever there was work no other group wanted or needed.

During the 1870s, an economic downturn resulted in serious unemployment problems, and led to politically motivated outcries against Asian immigrants who would work for low wages.  In reaction to states starting to pass immigration laws, in 1882 the federal government asserted its authority to control immigration and passed the first immigration law, barring lunatics and felons from entering the country.  Later in 1882, the second immigration law barred Chinese, with a few narrow exceptions.  Imperial China was too weak and impoverished to exert any influence on American policy.  This law was originally for 10 years, but was extended and expanded and not repealed until 1943, when China was our ally in World War II.  However, only 105 Chinese were allowed in legally each year, so the exception process actually continued into the 1950's.  Chinese were not on a equal immigration footing with other nationalities until immigration laws were completely rewritten in the mid 1960's.

One class of Chinese the U.S. could not keep out were those who were already citizens of the United States by virtue of having a father who was a citizen. (Until the mid-1920's, women did not have separate citizenship from their husbands and parents.  A native-born woman lost her citizenship by marrying a foreign national.) Then, as now, any person born in the U.S. is automatically a citizen, regardless of the status of their parents.  And the children of citizens are also citizens, regardless of where they are born.  Hence, any Chinese who could prove citizenship through paternal lineage could not be denied entry. 

Those without true fathers in the United States became "paper sons" or "paper daughters". They bought papers which identified them as children of American citizens.  Because official records were often non-existent, an interrogation process was created to determine if the immigrants were related as they claimed.  The papers the immigrants bought included detailed family information which they studied in order to pass their interrogations.  

Questions could include details of the immigrant's home and village as well as specific knowledge of his or her ancestors. Interrogations could take a long time to complete, especially if witnesses for the immigrants lived in the eastern United States.

When it opened in 1910, the new detention facility on Angel Island was considered ideal because of its isolation. There were buildings to house and care for detainees, a pier, and regular boat service to the mainland. During the next 30 years, this was the point of entry for most Chinese immigrants and approximately 175,000 came to Angel Island.   The average detention was two to three weeks, but many stayed for several months and a few were forced to remain on the island for nearly two years.

Some detainees expressed their feelings in poetry that they brushed or carved onto the wooden walls of the detention center. Others simply waited, hoping for a favorable response to their appeals, but fearing deportation. Many of the poems that were carved into the walls of the center are still legible today. Others were documented through the efforts of two detainees, Smiley Jann and Tet Yee in 1931-32, who copied down the poetry while they awaited disposition of their cases.

In 1940, the government decided to abandon the Immigration Station on Angel Island. Their decision was hastened by a fire that destroyed the administration building in August of that year. On November 5, the last group of about 200 aliens (including about 150 Chinese) was transferred from Angel Island to temporary quarters in San Francisco. The so-called "Chinese Exclusion Acts", which were adopted in the early 1880s, were repealed by federal action in 1943, because by that time, China was an ally of the U.S. in World War II.

In 1941, following the departure of the Immigration Service from the island, the station property was turned back to the Army, and it became the North Garrison of Fort McDowell.  When World War II began, the old detention barracks became a Prisoner of War Processing Center, and German and Japanese prisoners were processed there before being sent to permanent camps in the interior. 

The first prisoner taken by American forces in World War II, the commander of a midget submarine at Pearl Harbor, was sent to Angel Island.  He was followed by Germans captured in North Africa, and Japanese captured in the Pacific.  In 1942, the North Garrison was greatly expanded, with the construction of several barracks, a mess hall and a recreation building, making North Garrison a post in miniature.

Immigrants from other Pacific Rim countries, including Russia, Korea, the Philippines, and Japan, were detained here.

During World War I, "enemy aliens" (most of them German citizens who had been arrested on board ships in West Coast harbors) were held at the Immigration Station. These men were later transferred to permanent detention quarters in North Carolina.

Some U.S. federal prisoners were held on the second floor of the barracks.

After the war, the Immigration Station was abandoned and fell into disrepair. Like many other unused buildings on Angel Island, the detention barracks was scheduled for destruction in 1970. Prior to demolition, Park Ranger Alexander Weiss (photo at left: Weiss being interviewed by KQED at the barracks, 11/04) toured the building with flashlight in hand and noted the calligraphy carved in the walls. Through his efforts and those of Paul Chow and the Angel Island Immigration Station Historical Advisory Committee (AIISHAC), the dilapidated barracks was saved from demolition and special legislation was passed granting $250,000 to preserve and restore the barracks.

A museum has been established in the old barracks building. It includes a re-creation of one of the dormitories, and features some of the poems that were carved into the station's walls.  The museum is typically open on weekends for casual visitors during the 'summer' season (April to November) and tours can be arranged on other days by calling the Angel Island State Park Volunteer Coordinator at 415-435-3522.

Proposition 12, passed by California voters in 2000, dedicated $15 million to restore the Immigration Station.  Following the completion of detailed studies of the station, work was begun on the first phase of the restoration process in August, 2005. While Phase 1 restoration of the barracks and site are complete, it is not yet open to the public to allow new interpretive elements to be added.  The estimated cost of complete site restoration (Phases 2-6) is currently in the $30-60 million range.  The studies done to date have also added to our knowledge of the barracks and, in some cases, called into question data and statistics that were considered clear in the past.

The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to educate, preserve, restore, and improve the site. The long-term goal is to develop a premier west coast center for the study of Pacific Rim immigration from the past to the present, and to keep the history of Angel Island Immigration Station alive.

Panoramic photo from 1915 showing dock with warehouse for luggage, hospital (center back), administration building (center middle), heating plant (center front), barracks (middle-right), and employee cottage designed by Julia Morgan (back to right of smoke stack and far right). Buildings on ridgeline are unknown. Click on the photo for a full-sized view.