Based on the strict, grueling, arbitrary questioning that happened at Angel Island Detention Center towards the Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan and Koreans immigrating to America.
My great-great-great grandfather was a translator at the Angel Island immigration inspection and detention center. While many people in the United States have been erroneously taught that Ellis Island is the entry point for all immigrants, I know that Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean immigrants were sent to Angel Island, right next to Alcatraz Island, where the maximum security federal prison was located. At Angel Island, the government interrogated these people to decide whether they could enter the United States or should be deported.
An animation of Angel Island. Torn paper per frame for the few "paper sons" who got their paperwork unfairly torn away.
The passage of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act (followed by subsequent exclusions of other Asians and Pacific Islanders) kept the Asian population in the United States relatively small. However, when the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed the area's municipal records, many Chinese (and others) gained an opportunity to circumvent the exclusion laws. Specifically, because the Chinese in America were now able to claim birth in America, they were able to bring their children and others who posed as their relatives – known as “paper sons” – to the United States. The resulting immigration expansion led to the creation of Angel Island where the Chinese and other Asians were subjected to strict, grueling questioning. If they passed, they would be granted entrance. If they failed, they would be deported.
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National Archives
Anecdotally, my great-great-great grandfather and other Chinese translators would often try to assist their fellow countrymen during these unfair interrogations. People with little to no experience in English, were intimidated and questioned by the interrogators. They answered random, arbitrary questions about their connection to their sponsors in America, as well as their village life, and proximity to various spaces. Even though the translators were heavily watched, they were still able to offer some assistance.