The station on Angel Island aimed to improve the conditions of detention during the process of examination, which determined the eligibility of the Chinese to enter. It was built to be spacious and sanitary, as well as isolated, the better to keep away kinfolk and friends who might coach the would-be immigrants to help them through their lengthy interrogations.
The station, designed by Oakland architect Walter J. Matthews, was similar to the one on Ellis Island and exemplified the ethos of government rationality of the Progressive Era – separate buildings for administration, detention and medical services. Despite boosters’ claims that it was like a “summer resort,” it remained a jail for Chinese and other Asians, who were detained for weeks, months, in some cases as long as a year.
One might assume that Europeans were treated better than Asians and Mexicans, and, in general, that was the case. But it was not a simple matter of white versus nonwhite. Women, regardless of nationality or race, were suspected of being prostitutes unless they were married and accompanied by their husbands.
See the full article from “San Francisco Chronicle”
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