Ellis Island
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Ellis Island in New York Harbor became America’s first immigration center in 1892, immigrating 12 million people into the U.S. before it was decommissioned in 1954. Immigrants came to America from Europe, Asia, and the Americas by steamship. When the ship docked at New York Harbor, health officers would board the ship and looked for any signs of illness or diseases. If they didn’t find any, the first and second class passengers would be deposited directly onto the shore. The rest had to go through Ellis Island. When immigrants arrived at Ellis Island, they left their belongings at the Baggage Room and went upstairs to the Registry Room while doctors watched them for signs of health problems. In the Registry Room, or Great hall, they would go through medical and legal inspections, and officials would decide whether the immigrants could enter the country of if they should be reviewed further. Immigrants would receive a 6-second physical exam where a doctor would look over them for signs of sickness. Then, inspectors would ask the immigrants 29 questions about them to see if the answers matched the ones on the list of names the steamships had given the officials. At the end of the Great Hall were the Stairs of Separation, which had 3 aisles. The center aisle was for detainees, the right aisle was for people traveling south or west, and the left aisle was for people staying in New York or traveling north. The process usually took only 2-5 hours, but for some, it could take months.