Immigrants who passed the first mental inspection wait in pens in the Registry Room, also called the Great Hall at Ellis Island in New York Harbor, 1910
Nearly every day, for over two decades (1900-1924), the Registry Room was filled with new arrivals waiting to be inspected and registered by Immigration Service officers. On many days, over 5,000 people would file through the space.
For most immigrants, this great hall epitomized Ellis Island. It was here that immigrants underwent medical and legal examinations.
Here they encountered the complex demands of the immigration laws and an American bureaucracy that could either grant or withhold permission to land in the United States.
Historic Medical Inspection
The medical inspection was the first examination which an immigrant had to pass. The doctors and medical inspectors would look for any signs of illness or contagious diseases.
If found, they would mark the immigrant with a chalk mark letter, indicating the suspected illness, and earmarking the immigrant for further examination.
The majority of immigrants passed through the medical inspection the same day.
Historic Legal Inspection
Inspectors behind desks asked immigrants their name, home town, occupation, destination, and the amount of money they carried. Those allowed to pass continued downstairs.
Those detained for additional legal examination waited for an opportunity to explain further in the Board of Special Inquiry room where their hearing would be held.
About one percent would be denied admission for violation of America laws.
