Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. It was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States from 1892 to 1954, where nearly 12 million immigrants arriving at the Port of New York and New Jersey were processed there under federal law. Today, it is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and is accessible to the public only by ferry. The island has a land area of 27.5 acres (11.1 ha), much of which is from land reclamation. The natural island and contiguous areas comprise 4.68 acres (1.89 ha) within New York, and are located on the northern portion of the present-day island. The artificial land is part of New Jersey.
The National Immigration Museum is located on Ellis Island, which is home to an evocative series of exhibits and houses an amazing collection of artifacts from America’s history. Visitors can tour the Main Building of the former immigration complex, which is now home to the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. The museum is a world-class experience, and the immigrant experience comes to life in this fascinating, world-class museum.
Ellis Island was founded as a solution to ensure a safe, controlled, and regulated entry process for immigrants. The federal government took over immigrant processing and erected a set of new, purpose-built facilities on an island in New York Harbor. During the forty years it operated, Ellis Island saw more than 12 million immigrants pass through its gates, at a rate of up to 5,000 people a day. For many generations of Americans, and for almost all Italian Americans, Ellis Island is the first chapter of their familys story in the United States.
