Ellis Island and Immigration.

Today is our last day in New York and the only thing left on our agenda is Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Having never been there, I was very excited to go see those last tourist attractions. Even though we all had to be awake at 6:15am, we were all ready to go (for the most part).

We have been talking a lot about immigration and how people lived when they came to America. Many of those people did not have much money or really anywhere to go. As we learned in the Tenement Museum earlier in the week, people tended to live near others of the same nationality. They would also live in very small places with many people there. Going to Ellis Island was a really great way to bring that conversation to a head. The Statue of Liberty was the first thing people saw when they arrived here on the boat. Being a symbol of freedom, they dreamed of the better life they were going to have here. Ellis Island was the place where immigrants had to go get let into the U.S. 

In order to get to the Statue of Liberty, we had to take a ferry to the island. We were herded into a line through security, and were herded on and off the ferry. The entire time this was happening, all I could think about was that this was probably exactly how the immigrants felt when they got to Ellis Island. They were herded through all of Ellis Island, all to make sure they were legal. I hated the ten minutes of herding that we had to do. I can't even imagine what immigrants must have felt like going through that.

The process of getting admission into New York was rigorous. After arriving to the island, they had to go through a medical inspection. This inspection also consisted of a mental health check. Then they had to go through a legal inspection and could even have to go before a board of special inquiry. They could even get detained temporarily if they were deemed "unfit" to enter the country. 

I was born in the United States and so were my parents, so we didn't have to go through any type of immigration process. Having learned how vigorous the process was, even back then, I cannot even imagine having to go through that kind of emotional turmoil. And what if I got separated from my family, which I'm sure happened? That must have been traumatizing to not been with your family in an entirely new country. 

It was amazing to learn that only 2% out of 12 million people that came through Ellis Island got turned away. I know that it must have been terrifying to leave your home country and go to someplace strange and different. Something that I have realized this trip has been that if I was given an opportunity to change my life for the better, I would take it without hesitation.

Lately, there has been a lot debate on immigration and who we should let into the country. Our country was founded by groups of outcasts from other countries. It has always been a place that people go to for a better life and we pride ourselves on that. I believe that if we start restricting the people coming into our country, we will go back on everything we stand for. We are a country that people look to when they have nowhere else to look. We cannot take hope away from those people that are living in a situation with no hope.

-Allison Werth