With the beat of drums by PJ Hirabayashi and the TaikoPeace Ambassadors, Nichi Bei Foundation’s fifth Nikkei Angel Island Pilgrimage commenced at the Angel Island Immigration Station Oct. 1. Overlooking China Cove, where immigrants first set foot on U.S. soil before heading to the mainland, the pilgrimage honored the Issei immigrants who first set foot […]
Community honors Issei, dives into family histories, at 5th Nikkei Angel Island Pilgrimage
October 27, 2022 by Leave a Comment
‘Historical insight into the management of marginalized aliens’
January 1, 2022 by Leave a Comment
CLOSING THE GOLDEN DOOR: ASIAN MIGRATION AND THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF EXCLUSION AT ELLIS ISLAND By Anna Pegler-Gordon (Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 2021, 344 pp., $29.95, paperback) Anna Pegler-Gordon’s new book centers on the mythic immigration station at New York’s Ellis Island. The author makes a novel and convincing case […]
New exhibit at Angel Island features WWII experiences of Japanese immigrants incarcerated by the Department of Justice
January 1, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Angel Island State Park and the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation recently opened a new permanent exhibit in the World War II mess hall on the island, “Taken From their Families: Japanese American Incarceration on Angel Island During World War II.” It tells the story of the internment of 700 Japanese immigrants who were held […]
Unknown discoveries written by Japanese Angel Island immigrants come to light
July 22, 2021 by Leave a Comment
VOICES OF ANGEL ISLAND: INSCRIPTIONS AND IMMIGRANT POETRY, 1910-1945 By Charles Egan (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020, 342 pp., $108 hard cover / $86.40 ebook) The Chinese poetry carved in the walls of the former U.S. immigration station on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay is known by visitors and scholars, and played a large […]
Supervisor proposes resolution to maintain ferry service to Angel Island as operator seeks to end it
May 13, 2021 by Leave a Comment
With the Blue & Gold Fleet possibly ending its ferry service from San Francisco to Angel Island, Supervisor Gordon Mar on May 4 called for a resolution supporting continued service to the island to honor the estimated one million immigrants who were once detained there. Blue & Gold Fleet announced in December that it was […]
My tsuru
January 21, 2021 by Leave a Comment
I am a member of Tsuru for Solidarity. I am not an activist, nor am I a trained artist, but I have painted 12 large tsuru (paper cranes) of various sizes. I paint because it gives me pleasure and a way to express myself. Last year, like many Japanese Americans, I began by folding hundreds […]
Ferry service to Angel Island from SF may end due to declining sales
January 7, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Blue and Gold Fleet service from San Francisco to Angel Island may end due to declining sales, a company spokeswoman said Dec. 18. In September, the company filed a request with the California Public Utilities Commission to discontinue service, raising concerns at the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, which aims to make people more aware […]
A history book for our times
July 16, 2020 by Leave a Comment
America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States By Erika Lee (New York: Basic Books, 2019, 432 pp., $32, hard cover) Erika Lee’s new book, “America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States,” is one that speaks to our times. Well-respected among academics, Lee is among the foundational historians […]
Newsom, Bay Area officials deplore new immigration rule
August 15, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Gov. Gavin Newsom and an array of Bay Area officials on Aug. 12 deplored a new rule by President Donald Trump’s administration that will make it harder for low-income legal immigrants to extend their stays or seek permanent residency. “This is a reckless policy that targets the health and well-being of immigrant families and communities […]
Your historical immigration records are being held hostage. Again.
The USCIS Genealogy Program has proposed an outrageous new fee hike, which will also change how some documents are provided. The fee for initiating an Index Search for an individual will rise from $65 to $100. If the person searched has digitized records, they will be provided. If there are no digitized records, which is […]