The travail for immigrants wasn’t limited to the journey and Ellis Island processing. They could still be exploited and/or treated harshly before reaching their final destination as this 1910 report to the Presidential Commission on Immigration reveals. “At Ellis Island, the inspection by the doctors and the officers of the Immigration Service was quickly completed. … More True Immigrant Tales: After Ellis Island
[This is further testimony about sexual harassment and abuse in steerage class, taken from testimony given by a female government inspector, disguised as an immigrant aboard ship, reporting in 1909 to the Dillingham Immigration Commission.] “There was an outside main deck and an upper-deck on which the steerage were allowed. These were each about 40 feet wide … More True Immigrant Stories_26: Sexual Abuse in Steerage
Steerage conditions varied greatly, depending on the steamship line and the ship’s size, but all were unpleasant to say the least. Below is testimony from a government inspector, disguised as an immigrant, reporting in 1909 to the Dillingham Immigration Commission about the poor sanitary conditions on a smaller ship that carried less than 200 immigrants. … More True Immigrant Stories_21: Traveling in Steerage
[This is another firsthand account from my collection of immigrant memoirs. Here, American journalist Broughton Brandenburg recounts his traveling on a German steamship with Italian immigrants in October 1903. This excerpt appears in his book, Imported Americans.] “Sunday fell on the 11th, and it was a pleasant day till afternoon, when it began to get … More True Immigrant Stories_15: Reaching the Promised Land
Vince Parrillo 