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Examples of the carved poetry on the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station.
Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
One group that became a particular target of anti-immigration forces were those from China. Chinese immigrants had been coming to the United States for years before laws that excluded them were passed by Congress in the 1880s.
The immigration station at Angel Island in California became the detention center of Chinese immigrants attempting to enter the United States. Detention at Angel Island could last a few weeks, several months, or even years. For those who came seeking a new and better life, detention at Angel Island turned their life into a nightmare. Depression and dissatisfaction were common. This unhappiness was sometimes expressed through poetry carved into barrack walls. Some of this poetry is still visible today.
Following are samples of such poetry. Read them to determine what they revealed about living conditions on the island and why the writers believed they were being detained. One poem reads:
Detained in this wooden house for several tens of days because of the exclusion laws. It’s a pity heroes have no place to exercise their prowess. Waiting for news of my release, I am ready to snap my whip and gallop. All my kinsmen and housemates will be happy for me. But don’t deny this Western grandeur, this imposing facade For behind the jade carvings, there lies a cage.
Another poem is a bit more direct in its claims:
I am distressed that we Chinese are in this wooden building. It is actually racial barriers which cause difficulties on Yingtai Island. Even while they are tyrannical, they still claim to be humanitarian. I should regret my taking the risks of coming in the first place.
Most of those detained at Angel Island were eventually allowed entry into the United States, but that did not lessen their suffering after hoping for so much.
