[In 1979, tens of thousands of Vietnamese boat people, many of them actually Chinese, fled the communists in flimsy, overcrowded boats. Many drowned or were killed by pirates, but several hundred thousand reached refugee camps in other countries. Here is one refugee’s story; he came to the U.S. in 1980 at age 17.] “Our boat … More True Immigrant Tales: Vietnamese Boat People
[Louis Adamic was a prominent Slovene-American writer who migrated to America in December 1913 at age 15.] “Now and then I glanced at the noisy, picturesque, garlicky crowd on the steerage deck; people of perhaps a dozen nationalities milling around the capstans and steam-hissing winches, pushing toward the rails straining and stretching, … More True Immigrant Tales: “I Was Weak in the Knees”
[This is another true immigrant story from my oral history collection, gathered as part of my research for the historical novel, Guardians of the Gate, and its sequel, Defenders of Freedom. In 1925 at age 13, Heinz sailed alone from Bremen to live with his aunt and uncle in the United States. “We arrived on … More True Immigrant Stories_4: Young Teenager at Ellis Island
[This is another true story from my oral histories collection of immigrants who came through Ellis Island drawn from of my research for my historical novel, Guardians of the Gate and its sequel, Defenders of Freedom. Elzbieta came from Russia in 1923 at age 15.] The closer we came to the United States, the better we … More True Immigrant Stories_5: Her Father and His “Palace”
This true story is from my immigrant oral histories collection when I was researching for my historical novel, Guardians of the Gate (about Ellis Island in the 1890s), and its sequel, Defenders of Freedom. Because of the emotional level in his narration—even when he retold his story 65 years later—I’ll let Wilhelm tell the story … More True Immigrant Stories_6: A Teenager at Ellis Island
Last week’s blog—about the 1890s immigration setting of Guardians of the Gate compared to today—promised next time to give some surprising facts about the impact of immigrants on American society, both past and present. Here goes. Demographers measure the immigration impact in different eras by using an immigration rate. Similar to other rates—the crime rate, … More Immigration Then and Now
In an interview last week, the reporter asked me if the events of the 1890s described in my novel, Guardians of the Gate, can in any way relate to current issues on immigration. The simple answer was “yes,” and some of the details are the topic of this week’s blog. Americans in the 1890s saw … More The Relevance of 1890s Immigration to Today
Ellis Island today bears little resemblance to the Ellis Island of the 1890s, which is the primary setting for the historical novel, Guardians of the Gate and its sequel, Defenders of Freedom. First, the island back then was much smaller, about one third its present size. In 1899, construction began of Island No. 2 with landfill from … More Ellis Island: Then and Now
Vince Parrillo 