Angel Island is the largest island in California's San Francisco Bay.

A lot of immigrant from Asian

countries and more particularly China, were detained there, between 1910 and 1940. In the space of
30 years, the Angel Island immigration station accepted more than 500 000 Asian immigrants
entering the United States. Originally, the Angel Island immigration station was created following a
eugenics movement which feared the contamination of the white race by other races or ethnicities.
On arrival on the island, immigrants are subjected to a very precise interrogation. Inspectors can ask
over 200 questions! The interrogation is so precise and detailed that even migrants acting in good
faith sometimes make mistakes in their answers. Women are particularly targeted: the inspectors
suspect them of wanting to enter the United States to work as prostitutes. After the inspectors, come
the doctors and nurses. Migrants, especially Indians and Chinese, are inspected meticulously.
Americans fear infectious diseases plaguing their home country. All those deemed sick are sent to
hospital.A lot of immigrants from China were forced to spend several years on the island, waiting to
eventually enter the United States or be deported. Many immigrants began carving passages of
traditional Chinese poetry to express their despair. These poems were discovered much later, in the
1970s. In 1940, a fire caused the destruction of the administration building, leading to its relocation
to the city of San Francisco. In 1964, the Asian community succeeded in having the immigration
station recognized as a National Historic Landmark by California. Today, the Angel Island Immigration
Office is federally recognized as an American Heritage Site. It was renovated by California State Parks,
which reopened on February 16, 2009. In 2010, exactly a century after its opening, President Barack
Obama designated January 21 as Angel Island National Day.