The Angel Island Immigration Station Project

Authors

Amber Bell, Dominican University of California
Kaya Bottmeyer, Dominican University of CaliforniaFollow
DeAndre Brown, Dominican University of California
Guadalupe Castaneda Martinez, Dominican University of California
Amber Fields, Dominican University of California
Noah Gallardo, Dominican University of California
Madison Huckabay, Dominican University of CaliforniaFollow
Jorden Josephs, Dominican University of California
Brennan Krebs, Dominican UniversityFollow
Brianna Miller, Dominican University of California
Charolette Moody, Dominican University of CaliforniaFollow
Solena Omelas, Dominican University of California
Adele Partington, Dominican University of California
Cece Trifoso, Dominican University of CaliforniaFollow
Samuel Ridgley, Dominican University of CaliforniaFollow
Natalia Roman, Dominican University of California

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Project Description

The Angel Island Immigration Station has a short but important history. In operation for only thirty years, the station was built on an island in the San Francisco Bay. The name, Angel Island came from Spanish explorer Juan Miguel de Ayala. He encountered the island, which had been inhabited by the Coast Miwok tribe for thousands of years, on the Roman Catholic holiday of Our Lady of the Angels and correspondingly named the island. Many immigrants who came to the United States through the West Coast during this time period, from 1910-1940, were stopped at Angel Island for inspection before their passage into the country. Inspectors at the station would perform interviews, interrogations, and exams on the incoming passengers, which could range from a "visual examination" to a multi-month stay (some even stayed years!) with daily extensive interrogations and intrusive medical exams. The kind of treatment each passenger received was almost always linked to their nation of origin upon arrival and the color of their skin.

Year

2022

Community Partner(s)

Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation and California State Parks

Faculty Mentor

Jordan Lieser, PhD