The xenophobia behind the health screenings of immigrants in Ellis Island

Brut America

Medical screenings rooted in xenophobia took place as soon as 1892 for immigrants arriving on Ellis Island... #tbt

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00:00From all the evidence we have, this was a very scary and intimidating moment for newcomers.

00:16Many of them did not speak much English.

00:18They were being poked and prodded by individuals who were complete strangers and who were in

00:24uniforms, and for many coming from Eastern European countries, individuals in uniform

00:30were not your friends.

00:32They were soldiers.

00:33They were policemen.

00:34They were people who were seeking to intimidate you.

00:54Americans looked at the process of admitting immigrants as problematic.

01:18On the one hand, we wanted the immigrant labor to come into the United States, and in fact

01:23our rejection rates were very low.

01:25They averaged 2 to 3 percent per year, but the percentage of those rejected that were

01:33rejected on medical grounds shot up.

01:38The reason for that was improved means of medical diagnoses and the concern on the part

01:44of Americans that newcomers might be diluting the pioneering American stock in which Americans

01:51took such pride.

01:55Many of the nativists were, in fact, eugenicists.

01:59They were very concerned about biological issues and the contamination of Americans

02:06genetically by the arrival of these newcomers, who they saw as sometimes coming from societies

02:13that were starkly inferior to the United States in many ways, culturally and biologically.

02:22This was a moment when eugenic argument was being used, and not just by people who were

02:28bona fide bigots, but by many people of intelligence and goodwill who didn't understand the problem

02:36in this kind of eugenic thinking.

03:01They were encouraged to carry hand luggage with them, and there was a staircase that

03:09went from the first floor of Ellis to the second floor where the large registry room

03:15was located with its beautiful Spanish tiled vaulted ceilings.

03:20They were encouraged to carry their hand luggage so that medical inspectors could be at the

03:24top of those stairs and make determinations just about them, medical determinations based

03:31on the light stress that was required for carrying those bags up the stairs.

03:37Were they huffing and puffing?

03:38Were they coughing?

03:40Were they blue around the fingernails, which would indicate a lack of sufficient oxygen

03:46in the blood.

04:04If it was found that immigrants were suffering from diseases or disabilities, which would

04:11not allow them to be self-supporting, they could be sent back, usually at the cost of

04:18the steamship line that brought them.

04:42The reason why was America wanted this immigrant labor.

04:57They wanted admission.

05:01They weren't interested in rejecting newcomers because these newcomers were going to help

05:06build modern America.

05:09Those who owned mines and owned factories understood that.

05:14Even today, you see individuals who are involved in economic development in the building of

05:24high-tech areas want newcomers to come to the United States because they provide a tremendous

05:32source of low-cost labor.

05:37We want scientists and engineers and all kinds of workers who are highly skilled and very

05:45talented to come to the United States.

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