Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America

by Erika Lee, Judy Yung

From 1910 to 1940, the Angel Island immigration station in San Francisco served as the processing and detention center for over one million people from around the world. The majority of newcomers came from China and Japan, but there were also immigrants from India, the Philippines, Korea, Russia, Mexico, and over seventy other countries. The full history of these immigrants and their experiences on Angel Island is told for the first time in this landmark book, published to commemorate the immigration station's 100th anniversary.

Based on extensive new research and oral histories, Angel Immigrant Gateway to America examines the great diversity of immigration through Angel Chinese "paper sons," Japanese picture brides, Korean refugee students, South Asian political activists, Russian and Jewish refugees, Mexican families, Filipino workers, and many others. Together, their stories offer a more complete and complicated history of immigration to America than we have ever known.

Like its counterpart on Ellis Island, the immigration station on Angel Island was one of the country's main ports of entry for immigrants in the early twentieth century. But while Ellis Island was mainly a processing center for European immigrants, Angel Island was designed to detain and exclude immigrants from Asia. The immigrant experience on Angel Island-more than any other site-reveals how U.S. immigration policies and their hierarchical treatment of immigrants according to race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and gender played out in daily practices and decisions at the nation's borders with real consequences on immigrant lives and on the country itself.

Angel Immigrant Gateway to America is officially sponsored by the Angel Island Immigration Station.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Race, Biography, Aapi, American History

432 pages, Hardcover

First published July 30, 2010

About the author

I’m a writer and professor who loves reading and writing. I finished my fourth book: America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the U.S., which will be published by Basic Books/Hachette on November 26, 2019.

I’m a historian who still does history the old-fashioned way by doing research in the archives. I get excited finding dusty documents, but I’m also fully immersed in the 21st century as a #twitterstorian who is helping to build a digital archive of immigrant digital stories and provide historical commentary to the news.

I write about immigrants, Asian Americans, and race as a way to understand America in the past and present. I write history “from the bottom up,” focusing on everyday people and their role in American life. I fervently believe that there has never been a more important time for strong, fact-based, and accessible history and journalism. In a society that seemingly accepts the erasure and misinterpretation of history as well as the manipulation and denial of facts, we need to understand how we got to where we are today, what is at stake, and what we can do to create change.

I wrote America for Americans in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential elections. My students, many of whom are first-generation immigrants and refugees, kept asking "How could we have elected a president who called Mexicans 'rapists' and 'criminals' and called for a 'complete and total shutdown of Muslims to the US'?" And "how could this have happened today, after two terms of our first African American president?"

I didn't have the answers. And none of the books on my shelves did either. So I decided to write my own. America for Americans is a sobering history. It was hard to write (and it literally made me sick to do so!) But I think it is a necessary wake up call for all of us who seek to live in a humane and welcoming world. I hope that you will enjoy it!

Reviews

[David Marxer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read book for anyone serious about US immigration history. Not the 'Ellis Island' of the west coast as some believe, Angel Island was the guarded 'gateway to America,' guarded with exclusion laws and racial biased tests and examinations. The authors gave each immigrant group their own chapter and never shied from comparing them.
I found Chapters 1, 2, and 6 about Chinese, Japanese, and later Jewish and Russian immigration,all which I'm most familiar, well written and researched. Chapters 5 and 7 about Koreans and Mexicans filled in many gaps in my knowledge of these groups, but Chapter 8 about Filipinos becoming 'aliens' instead of 'nationals' and the US Repatriation program of the 1930s was the most helpful.
For me the real eye opener was Chapter 4 about South Asians.
I'm ashamed to say I knew nothing about the treatment of South Asians early in the 20th century or their own exclusion law in 1917.
The last two Chapters deal with the restoration of Angel Island and current immigrant policy that makes one wonder how far we have really come...

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth reading -- deeply researched history of the many who passed through Angel Island on their way to landing on the mainland U.S., many who were sent home before they could get off the island, and some who were deported. The Chinese immigrants were the most numerous, and they left the most poignant record -- poems in the classical style carved into the wooden walls -- but so many others came through as well: Japanese picture brides, Indians organizing for independence, Filipinos caught in limbo after the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act -- no longer colonials who could freely enter, but without papers from a sovereign nation. Well-written and rich with family stories.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to get through it. I wish that the authors would not have began with the Chinese experience, but I can understand why they did, as the Chinese were by far the largest group to be processed (and most likely to be detained for long periods of time). One of them, Judy Yung, whom I saw give a presentation on the book and Angel Island last year, had a personal connection: her father was detained on the island.

[Sadiya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful insightful book that details the stories and experiences of immigrants who entered through Angel Island, the "Ellis Island of the West". Although both islands served as immigrant entry-points, the experience on both islands differed vastly. Mainly European immigrants entered through Ellis Island, a pretty uncomplex process while at Angel Island, Asian and immigrants of color faced a very different situation. Often detained for lengthy periods due to biased immigration policies, the book details the stories of immigrants who were detained there. The stories will not be unfamiliar at all as it will mirror our current policies regarding migrants and detention centers.
Definitely recommend.

[S.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. A decent book that explores some of the stories and the overall historical backdrop of immigration to Angel Island. It's more of a survey of the different ethnicities that immigrated through Angel Island and the policies that allowed them to (or didn't) and the circumstances in their home countries. A good beginner book on early-mid 20th century U.S. immigration, and a must read for anyone who says "but my ancestors came here legally!"

[Chris Miller · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I thought this may be a great cornerstone to the fine readings available on the Chinese experience, (Lisa See, on Gold Mountain; Gordon Chang, Ghosts of Gold Mountain) but I was mistaken. I gave it 100 pages and had to cry, 'Uncle.' There is very good information given in this book. Unfortunately, it is presented in a pedantic, repetitive style. It drains the reader, and, I for one cannot slog on.

[Leila Kern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book for history buffs! If you thought only Asian immigrants entered via Angel Island, this book is a must read! Fascinating to read the multitudes entering through Angel Island! And, as much as the United States thinks they have embraced the different cultures with immigration, much is still to be learned! Very well written.

[Carolyn Fagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great introduction to the history and experiences of those immigrants who passed through Angel Island and the discrimination that they faced. Certainly not a story that is as widely known as the story of Ellis Island. Due to the fact that there were multiple authors, the text was repetitive at times, but still a good basis.

[Katherine Lavelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a lot of people who have spent time in SF, there is a big push to go to Alcatraz but not as much of a focus on Angel Island. Dr. Lee does a fantastic job providing context and depth about the function of Angel Island and the individuals who were detained there. This book is accessible and engaging and I learned a lot reading it.

[David Grassé · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angel Island - the United States' other immigration, lesser-known station, which was more concerned with exclusion and deportation than allowing people in to the country. Highly recommended read, and you will want to do so before some racist political group decides this book needs to be banned as Critical Race Theory.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Assigned reading in college, very readable for history textbook with lots of first person stories to break up the legal text

It helps that the author is a wonderful person

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an incredible and fluidly written book, that really reveals the history of immigration in the Bay Area.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

[Kathleen (itpdx) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angel Island in San Francisco Bay was the main immigrant processing station on the west coast from 1910 to 1940. The authors trace US immigration by following the history of seven groups that came through Angel Island during that time--Chinese, Japanese, South Asian, Korean, Russians and Jews, Mexicans, and Filipinos.
I like history that looks at individual experiences and this book tells the stories of many individuals and families that illuminate the impacts of racism and immigration laws. I thought that the authors used a good plan that looked at the separate streams of immigrants based on their origins. But they often shifted between stories and dropped stories to be picked up later without sufficient transitions to help the reader understand and follow. It took me several chapters to pick up on this pattern.
I would have liked time lines that showed the various groups and the important dates for each group with a line showing the succession and dates for the Angel Island Immigration Commissioners.
This is an important history and it did a very good job of giving me an understanding of US Pacific immigration.

[GT · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the concluding chapter of the book, the authors state, "Angel Island's history continues to be timely and relevant." For me that summarizes why reading this book inflamed my irritation with our politics on immigration today. I naively thought that our immigration policy mess was a fairly recent phenomenon. I was wrong. This book documents the unfair treatment and discriminatory practices employed by government workers, reported in the press, and favored by many in the public sector, over 100 years ago at the US Immigration Station at Angel Island. Many of the isolated incidents reported in the book are sad, and horrendous for the families who were impacted. I'm left feeling disgusted knowing we still haven't figured out an immigration solution that is fair to all and in the best interest of our country.

Climbing down from my soapbox now...

3 Stars

★ = Horrid waste of time
★★ = May be enjoyable to some, but not me
★★★ = I am glad I read it
★★★★ = Very enjoyable and something I'd recommend
★★★★★ = A rare find, simply incredible

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched, well written historic account of immigration intake at the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco. Unromanticized accounts about the Chinese (largest) immigration and the arbitrary nature of holding and interrogating people at the station. The authors also describe the arrivals of Koreans, Russians, Jews, Mexicans and Filipinos concluding with present day ordeals of prospective immigrants held in detention. Good perspective of current immigration practices with an eye to practices of the past. Angel Island was not the romantic story of immigrants who came seeking refugre in the new world through Ellis Island.

[Alina S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America shows you through a different perspective of mistreatment and racism. It tells the story through different perspectives of people with different races who take you through the telling of their experience at Angel Island. Not only do others jump right into the interviews but they also give you background information on how Angel Island came to be. Before I read this book, I only thought that African Americans were mistreated but that's not the truth. This book is great for getting a better understanding of how other races were mistreated and how they were treated differently from each other.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect book to read right after this election. An insightful, comprehensive history of immigration through Angel Island and how it affected different ethnic groups. The last section was actually the most moving for me, when the authors compare immigration then to now. We haven't come very far, and in most ways we've gone backwards. It's disturbing that I never even heard of Angel Island until recently, and didn't know much at all about what non-white immigrants in history have experienced in coming to America. Our school systems only talk about European immigration at Ellis Island, and that's something that needs to change.

[n · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic look at the complexities of immigration in American history. There are so many aspects that were discussed (primarily regarding Asian [South, East, and Southeast] immigration into the United States) that I had never heard of before because they are never brought to our attention, especially during mandatory schooling. These are things most people have to go out of their way to learn, which is absurd; this is our history, and we need to acknowledge it.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and easy to read. I appreciated that this book looked at all (or almost all) of the immigrant groups that came through Angel Island, rather than focusing only on the Chinese and the exclusion acts (although the authors do spend a significant chunk on Chinese immigration). The chapter about South Asian immigration is particularly enlightening.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angel Island was to Asian Americans what Ellis Island was to European Americans. The authors give a history of the immigration facility at Angel Island and tell the stories of many immigrants who the US through that facility. A good look at Asian immigration during the first half of the twenith century.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well-researched but not entertaining. Scattershot approach to individual stories so no emotional investment. An important but colorless addition to the historical record of immigration to California and beyond.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting. Although the point of the book was the experience it was interesting to see the progression of the modern visa system and the current border patrol that the United States uses today. Even if it came out of some of the worse experiences people could have coming to America.

[Shawna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very important book.... 3.5 stars in reality.

I loved the focus of using different countries as chapter content. I went to Angel Island for a bike ride in 2005. None of the memorials were there yet, so now I am itching to return!

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Goodreads needs a more accurate rating system. Excellent research. Sort of gets bogged down in minutiae. Really worth the read, however.