Presidential Proclamation: National Angel Island Day, 2010

A Proclamation by the President of the United States:

“One hundred years ago, the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay opened for the first time, and an important chapter of the American narrative began. It would be written by those who walked through the station’s doors over the next three decades. From the cities, villages, and farms of their birth, they journeyed across the Pacific, seeking better lives for themselves and their children. Many arrived at Angel Island, weary but hopeful, only to be unjustly confined for months or, in some cases, years. As we remember their struggle, we honor all who have been drawn to America by dreams of limitless opportunity.” Federal Register.

In the era of the Chinese exclkusuion laws (see post earlier today), Angel Island, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, was an immigrant detention facility used to hold Chinese immigrants who were being subject to interrogation to ensure that they had the lawful right to immigrate to the United States.

KJ