The San Francisco Bay has long been a gateway for immigrants. Between 1910 and 1940, more than a million people from 80 different countries entered the United States through the immigration station on Angel Island.
After World War II, the station was shut down and neglected. In 2009, the immigration station was restored and classified as a National Historic Landmark, but it wouldn’t have happened if not for one man who unveiled a long forgotten secret. In 2005, we went to Angel Island to hear his story, and bring you this report from the Crosscurrents’ archive.
Click the player above to listen to the full story.
This story originally aired in 2005.
Former Ranger Alex Weiss passed away in October 2014. He lived long enough to witness the hundredth anniversary of the opening of the immigration station, when President Barack Obama declared every January 21st National Angel Island Day.