You came to America full of hope and determination to provide money for your family, only to have it dashed as you are held for months in a time-wasting, culturally degrading deportation center. This is what it was like for hundreds of Chinese Immigrants in the early 1900’s. Because the 1906 San Francisco earthquake led to the burning of the immigration documents, which then enabled hundreds of Chinese to come to California, the Angel Island Deportation Center was enforced - to control the sudden increase of Chinese immigrants.
In 1906, a massive earthquake shook the city of San Francisco. This earthquake caused both city blocks of destruction and multiple fires. As these fires roamed across the city, thousands of immigration documents were burned. This created an opportunity for hundreds of Chinese back home. Many immigrants in California claimed they were citizens of America. Without any documents as proof, American officials had to believe them. Since Chinese were allowed passage to America through their relatives, the immigrants in San Francisco created “paper sons.” They
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This led to the enforcement of the Angel Island Deportation Center. Chinese Immigrants were often sent here before they were allowed on the mainland. They were interrogated and examined. Any flaw in their answers or physical appearance could lead to their deportation back home. People were treated poorly here; people were both separated from their families and forced to live in a crowded, tedious living space. They had to endure embarrassing procedures in which officials would check them for parasites or any illness. The interrogations lasted hours on end, and immigrants were asked questions about the smallest details of their lives. “How many steps to your front door?” The smallest mistake could lead to a delayed approval for passage to California, or even worse,