Video Resources
Emigrants disembarking boat at Ellis Island 1903
For more than 30 years, Ellis Island was the main entry point for immigrants into the United States. Located on an inland in New York harbor, half a mile north of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island was where immigrants were questioned by customs agents and examined by doctors. Between 1892, when the federal government began using Ellis Island as an immigrant processing center, and 1924, over 12 million people passed through its buildings.