Ellis Island (detention facility)

The Ellis Island immigration station opened on January 1, 1892, at a time of increased immigration and new federal immigration restrictions. The first wooden structure burned down in 1897 and three years later was replaced with the current limestone and redbrick building. In 1990, this building was opened as the Ellis Island Immigration Museum.

Immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and U.S. entry into World War II, roughly 100 Japanese New Yorkers were rounded up by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and confined on Ellis Island. Using their prewar surveillance lists of potential detainees , FBI agents and New York City Police officers traversed the city arresting Japanese nationals. With little time to pack their belongings, detainees were taken to the U.S. Courthouse in Foley Square, Manhattan, where they were interviewed (and their answers compared to FBI surveillance information), photographed, fingerprinted and arraigned. They were then transported to the Battery and taken by boat to Ellis Island. ^[3] Both nationally and in New York, the FBI initially focused on Japanese nationals. However, as the war progressed, larger numbers of Germans were detained at Ellis Island. The average number of all enemy alien detainees present at Ellis Island on any one day increased from 347 in 1941 to 829 in 1944. ^[4] Nationwide, there were 600,000 registered Italian nationals, 300,000 Germans, and 90,000 Japanese; however, Japanese nationals formed about half of those arrested at both the national level and in New York. ^[5]

Compared to the West Coast, Japanese New Yorkers were more likely to be first-generation, with professional connections to Japan: in 1930, one-third were employees of Japanese companies or banks stationed in New York. They were also more likely to live in integrated communities in New York City or the surrounding suburbs and to be intermarried: approximately one-third of the members of the New York Japanese Association were married to non-Japanese women. ^[6] Although the overall number of Japanese detained was lower than the total number of Germans, almost every Japanese New Yorker was investigated by the FBI and, as a percentage of their population, Japanese detention rates were much higher. During the course of the war, at least 440 Japanese nationals were recorded in detention at Ellis Island. ^[7]

Women formed one-fifth of the adult Japanese population of New York City, but they were far fewer of those detained. According to existing records, only four Japanese women were held at Ellis Island. ^[8] Although very few Japanese women were detained on the island, it was—along with Gloucester City, Sharp Park and Seagoville —one of the few facilities with capacity for women enemy aliens. ^[9]

In addition to its role as an internment site for enemy aliens, Ellis Island continued to be used as a detention center for unauthorized immigrants, sailors and other groups of all nationalities throughout the war. Among these, 200 Indonesian sailors were detained in 1943 and 200 more in 1945 as they demanded equal wages and Indonesian independence. During wartime, U.S. authorities confined individuals who could not land under U.S. law and could not be deported. ^[10]

Japanese New Yorkers were held at Ellis Island while waiting for INS hearings to determine whether they would be released with minimal oversight, released on parole, or interned long-term in an Enemy Alien detention facility. They were also asked if they wished to be repatriated. As a legal process, internment was distinct from WRA incarceration, with hearings that provided limited due process and prisoners protected by the Geneva Convention. ^[11] However, in both INS hearings and " loyalty questionnaires " administered in WRA camps, officials assumed that American acculturation indicated loyalty. Ellis Island board members viewed white witnesses, longtime U.S. residence, interracial intermarriage, Christian beliefs, and connections to the U.S. Armed Forces as signs of U.S. loyalty. As in the WRA, officials suspected disloyalty among Japanese nationals who were employed by Japanese companies, had prominent family members in Japan, or were members in Japanese organizations in the United States. In many cases, Japanese immigrants were sent to internment camps without any evidence of disloyalty or expressed support for Japan. ^[12]

At Ellis Island, about 40 percent of the Japanese nationals recorded in detention were repatriated. This high percentage reflected the large number of Japanese diplomats, businessmen, and temporary residents in New York. Among the detainees who stayed in the United States, hearing boards recommended half for internment in an Enemy Alien detention facility, one quarter for parole, and almost one fifth for release with minimal supervision. On average, Japanese nationals deemed a national security risk and recommended for internment were detained at Ellis Island for about three months (104 days). They were interned in various U.S. Army and Department of Justice internment camps including especially Fort Meade , Camp Upton , Kooskia , Fort Missoula , and Santa Fe . Many were transferred between multiple camps. Those who were paroled were detained for an average of almost five months (142 days), then released under the supervision of a sponsor to their homes in the New York metropolitan area. Those who were released without parole were detained at Ellis Island for an average of 47 days. ^[13]

Published accounts and oral histories of confinement on Ellis Island emphasize the tedium of long days with few activities. The morning routine began with a loud alarm at around 6:20 a.m. followed by a march to breakfast and a head count by the guards. After this morning meal, detainees returned to their dormitories where they sat on bunk beds playing cards, reading, and discussing the war situation. Lunch was served at noon and dinner at 5:15 p.m. Some prisoners described the food as "smelly" and "tasteless" while others noted it was "adequate." Overcrowding was a persistent problem. Despite this, detainees were initially allowed outside for just two to three hours each week. ^[14] As the schedule became more established, prisoners were allowed to exercise daily after 3 p.m. and volunteers provided activities and assistance. Detainees were allowed to communicate with their families through mail and telephone, although both were carefully monitored. On alternating Wednesdays, short personal visits lasting about 10 minutes were allowed. Different groups of INS detainees were housed in separate areas on Ellis Island. In addition to racial segregation between white and non-white detainees, men and women were housed in separate dormitories, enemy aliens were segregated from other detained immigrants, and Japanese, German and Italian nationals were housed separately from one another. Lights were turned out at 10 p.m. ^[15]

During 1944, 157 people were employed at Ellis Island, 111 of whom were guards. Compared to earlier periods when most employees were immigrant inspectors, the large number of guards reveals how the island had changed from an immigration processing center to a confinement site. ^[16] Although Ellis Island is often viewed primarily as an immigration station or a short-term detention site, in 1944, the INS described it as one of the agency's "permanent detention stations." ^[17]

The round-up and detention of Japanese New Yorkers on Ellis Island had significant impacts on detainees, their families, and the larger New York community. Some detainees preferred to return to Japan; others considered themselves American but were alienated by anti-Japanese racism. Many were conflicted. Bunzo Endo, for example, expressed his willingness to fight for the United States, but was not sure whether he would be able to kill a Japanese soldier or even which nation he wanted to win the war. Naoye Suzuki, who was detained twice at Ellis Island despite the fact that he was a U.S. citizen, commented that "he wants to be loyal to America, but his experiences to date have brought him into [contact with] few Caucasian Americans who either believe him or want him to be loyal to America." ^[18] Many detainee concerns were compounded by the fact that, even if they lived for extended periods in the United States, Japanese and other Asian immigrants were not allowed to naturalize as U.S. citizens. (For additional information, see: Naturalization Act of 1790, Ozawa v. United States.)

Toru Matsumoto, a Christian leader who was detained at Ellis Island, recalled that detainees experienced "a sense of turmoil." Matsumoto had been told by the FBI agents who arrested him that he would remain at Ellis Island for "a couple of days"; however, he waited a month for his hearing and six more weeks to learn that he was being interned. He was not released from internment until almost a year after his initial arrest. ^[19]

The wives and children of Japanese New Yorkers confined on Ellis Island faced significant hardships. Some families had sufficient savings to survive the detention of their husband and father, typically the family's only wage-earner. Others were made destitute. The Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America provided assistance to Japanese impacted by wartime confinement, including "food and housing for families which have been left behind when their men had been taken over to Ellis Island." ^[20] Some cases were identified as "expedited" because of economic need or an internee's wife expecting a child; however, expedited cases were not decided more quickly than average and did not affect the hearing decision. Toru Matsumoto's parole case was expedited because his wife and son had no financial support but still took ten months. The wife of Ellis Island detainee Matsuhei Matsuo was described by US officials as "seriously ill," "unable to speak English," "destitute," "helpless," and "alone." However, her husband was repatriated to Japan. Immigration officials acknowledged the "many tragic situations which arose due to the internment of the heads of families," but they did little to help. ^[21]

Issei from New York detained at Ellis Island then paroled were not sent to WRA/WCCA camps like many individuals in the western United States. Most returned to their homes and families in the city or surrounding suburbs. However, they found it difficult to secure employment because of their status, the need to meet weekly with their sponsors, and anti-Japanese discrimination. ^[22] Some individuals who were paroled were required to resettle outside of New York. ^[23] Parolees also faced social isolation and financial impacts, as parolees were often warned against associating with other Nikkei, shunned by non-Nikkei, faced discrimination in employment and couldn't find work with Japanese businesses which were shuttered during the war. A few parolees were released from parole during the war; most were monitored through November 1945 and others until 1946. The average time that Japanese New Yorkers spent under parole restrictions outside of Ellis Island was 961 days, more than two and a half years. ^[24]

Although New York had a smaller Nikkei population than western states, wartime and postwar resettlement expanded the city's population. Starting in 1943, longtime New York residents were joined by Japanese Americans released from WRA confinement. Despite opposition from elected officials, including New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, by September 1944, more than 1,000 Japanese Americans had resettled in New York state. Many more arrived in 1945 and 1946. ^[25]

Some Ellis Island detainees who were repatriated to Japan kept in touch with one another and formed the Ellis Club in Tokyo. After the war, they invited one of the volunteers who worked at Ellis Island to visit them in Japan. ^[26]

Ellis Island closed in 1954 and fell into disrepair. The main building was restored and opened in 1990 as part of the National Park Service Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island National Monument. The building houses an immigration museum which focuses on Ellis Island's role as an immigration station and U.S. histories of immigration broadly. Approximately four million people visit the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island National Monument each year, roughly half from the United States and half international visitors. ^[27] Ellis Island's use as an internment camp was publicly acknowledged in 1998 when the Japanese American National Museum brought an exhibition titled America's Concentration Camps: Remembering the Japanese-American Experience to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Amidst conflicts over the use of the term "concentration camps," the exhibition was adapted to include recognition of Ellis Island's role in wartime confinement. ^[28] However, despite extensive media coverage of the exhibition, only one mainstream media article mentioned the presence of Japanese internees on Ellis Island. ^[29]

Elleman, Bruce. Japanese-American Civilian Prisoner Exchanges and Detention Camps, 1941-45 . London; New York: Routledge, 2006.

Iwamoto, Kinichi in William Minoru Hohri, Repairing America: An Account of the Movement for Japanese-American Redress . Pullman, Wash.: Washington State University Press, 1988, 179-180.

Matsumoto, Toru and Marion Lerrigo, A Brother is a Stranger . New York: John Day Co., 1946.

Pegler-Gordon, Anna. "'New York Has a Concentration Camp of its Own': Japanese Confinement on Ellis Island During World War II," Journal of Asian American Studies 20.3 (Oct. 2017).

Robinson, Greg. After Camp: Portraits of Midcentury Japanese American Life and Politics . Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.

Sheridan, Peter B. The Internment of German and Italian Aliens Compared with the Internment of Japanese Aliens in the United States During World War Two: A Brief History and Analysis . Congressional Research Service. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1980.