Interrogations Of Chinese Immigrants At Angel Island

Interrogations of Chinese Immigrants at Angel Island

Chinese immigration, after being shut down for many years by governmental legislation and an anti-
Chinese climate resumed quickly after 1906. The major earthquake and fire that occurred in San Francisco
lent the Chinese immigrants a window of opportunity to regain entrance to America. Immigrants could now
claim, without proof, that they were indeed the son or daughter of a citizen or a partner in a legitimate
business. These paper sons and paper merchants increased the number of Chinese immigrants by an
unbelievable rate. It was this supposed population explosion that would lead the United States to
investigate all incoming Chinese immigrants. Being wary of the impossibility of so many legitimate
children of U.S. citizens of Chinese descent, the department of immigration and naturalization sought out to
verify that these people were indeed the true sons and daughters or the actual businessmen that they
claimed to be. Therefore it was against this historical background and unde!
r these particular auspices that the interrogations at Angel Island were carried out from 1910 to 1940. These
interrogations were by no means fair, nor were they based on any other legal or practical precedent. While
unreasonable detentions were already the norm, the act of interrogating immigrants to the extent that the
Chinese were interrogated was unheard of in history. These interrogations were intricate and detailed, and
designe...

Interrogations Of Chinese Immigrants At Angel Island

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