The Bay Area Island Where Chinese Immigrants Carved Poems into Walls During Months of Interrogation

Angel Island Immigration Station

A stone’s throw from Alcatraz sits Angel Island. For thirty years, this spot in San Francisco Bay held thousands of Asian immigrants in prison-like conditions. They left their mark in poems carved into wood that are still visible today.

Here’s what happened at the Ellis Island of the West Coast from 1910 to 1940.

America’s Gateway for Asian Immigrants

On January 21, 1910, Angel Island Immigration Station opened its doors in San Francisco Bay. For the next 30 years, this isolated facility processed over 500,000 immigrants from 80 different countries.

Chinese arrivals formed the largest group, with 175,000 people detained here, followed by 60,000 Japanese.

Asian immigrants often endured weeks, months, or even years of detention. The island’s isolation served its purpose perfectly: detainees remained invisible to the mainland, while officials enforced America’s increasingly restrictive immigration laws.

How Anti-Chinese Sentiment Built a Prison Island

It began with gold. In 1848, the first Chinese immigrants arrived in California seeking fortune, soon followed by thousands more.

They built railroads, farmed land, and established businesses. But when economic depression hit in the 1870s, Chinese workers became convenient scapegoats.

Political campaigns labeled them “the yellow peril,” claiming they stole jobs and refused to assimilate. Public pressure mounted until Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.

For the first time in American history, a specific ethnic group was banned from immigrating. Initially set for ten years, the restrictions were repeatedly extended and expanded to include most Asians.

Building a Detention Center in San Francisco Bay

Before Angel Island, arriving Chinese immigrants were held in a dilapidated shed at the Pacific Mail Steamship Company wharf. Health officials condemned the overcrowded, unsanitary space.

In 1904, immigration authorities proposed a solution: build a new facility on Angel Island, the largest island in San Francisco Bay. The War Department transferred 20 acres on the northern shore in 1905.

Construction began that year, despite protests from Chinese community leaders. Workers leveled a Coast Miwok village site to make way for the new complex. The station included wooden barracks, an administration building, hospital, powerhouse, and wharf, all facing away from San Francisco.

The Day the First Immigrants Arrived

January 21, 1910 dawned cold and foggy as the first boats brought immigrants from ships anchored in the bay. On the pier, immigration officials directed newcomers by nationality and gender.

First-class passengers and Europeans had already been processed on board their ships and released. Asian immigrants, along with Russians and Mexicans, were ferried to Angel Island.

Men went one way, women another. Children under 12 stayed with their mothers. Everyone else faced an uncertain wait.

Life Behind Barbed Wire Fences

The barracks housed up to 300 people at once. Men slept in one building, women in another. Immigrants lived on narrow metal cots stacked three high, with just enough space to turn over.

The stench of disinfectant mingled with the smell of unfamiliar food. Each day followed the same routine: wake at dawn, eat at set times, brief outdoor recreation periods, lights out at 9:00 p.m.

Many simply stared across the bay at San Francisco, so near yet unreachable.

Paper Sons Who Claimed False Identities

With legal entry nearly impossible, Chinese immigrants found a loophole. The law allowed U.S. citizens to bring their children from China. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed government records, many Chinese claimed citizenship with no way to disprove them.

These new “citizens” returned to China and reported births of children who didn’t exist. The paperwork for these fictional children sold for about $100 per year of the buyer’s age.

“Paper sons” memorized intricate details about their supposed families from coaching books, preparing for grueling immigration interviews.

For many, this dangerous deception was their only path to America.

Interrogations That Determined Their Fate

The questioning was relentless. While Europeans faced basic medical screenings, Chinese immigrants endured interrogations lasting days or even weeks.

Two officers fired hundreds of questions: How many windows in your family home? Which direction did the kitchen face? Who lived in the third house in your village?

About 18% of Chinese immigrants failed and were sent back to China, dreams shattered and family savings spent on a failed journey.

When Detainees Carved Their Stories Into Walls

They used whatever they could find. Nail files, tin can lids, broken chopsticks. With these makeshift tools, Chinese detainees carved hundreds of poems directly into the wooden walls of the barracks.

The earliest appeared within months of the station’s opening. The poems followed classical Chinese forms and spoke of rage, sorrow, and determination. Most writers remained anonymous, fearing punishment.

Immigration officials repeatedly painted over these “defacements,” inadvertently preserving them for future generations.

One carved poem read simply: “America has power, but not justice.”

Children Growing Up in Confinement

Children watched the world through barbed wire. Young ones under 12 stayed with their mothers in cramped quarters. Older boys joined men’s barracks, separated from their families.

They played in dirt yards under guard supervision, making toys from whatever they found. Some stayed for months or years during their parents’ appeals process. Despite attempted normalcy, the trauma was evident.

One poem noted: “The young children do not yet know worry… they still want to play all day like calves.” For these children, America’s first impression wasn’t freedom or opportunity, but confinement and uncertainty.

The Fire That Closed the Station

In August 1940, flames tore through the administration building. Fire spread quickly through the wooden structure. Though no lives were lost, the damage was extensive. With immigration slowing and maintenance costs rising, officials seized the opportunity.

They transferred all 200 detainees, including 150 Chinese immigrants, to facilities on the mainland. On November 5, 1940, Angel Island Immigration Station officially closed. The U.S. Army reclaimed the site, converting it into a prisoner of war processing center called North Garrison during World War II.

By 1943, as China became a wartime ally, Congress finally repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Rediscovery That Saved a Forgotten History

The abandoned barracks sat deteriorating until 1970, when park ranger Alexander Weiss noticed something unusual. Shining his flashlight on the walls, he discovered hundreds of Chinese characters carved into the wood.

His supervisors dismissed it as graffiti and planned demolition. Weiss contacted San Francisco State professor George Araki, who recognized their historical significance.

Chinese American activists formed a committee to save the site. California’s legislature approved $250,000 for preservation in 1976.

Visiting Angel Island Immigration Station

Take a ferry from San Francisco or Tiburon to get to Angel Island State Park. Once you arrive at Ayala Cove, a beautiful 1.2-mile walk will lead you to the Immigration Station.

The Detention Barracks Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM.

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