Discrimination and Violence Against Asian Americans in the 20th Century:
Insights from Angel Island Immigration Station
Brief Background
The discrimination against Asian immigrants in the 19th century continued into the 20th century. This summary looks into anti-Asian discriminatory cases through the U.S. immigration policies regarding Asian immigrants at Angel Island Immigration Station in the San Francisco Bay area and anti-Asian laws.
U.S. Immigration Policies
Before Angel Island Immigration Station opened in 1910, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company’s dock on Pier 36 in San Francisco had been used as a landing point for Asian immigrants to the U.S. for about 40 years. Though Europeans and travelers with first- or second-class tickets could disembark in San Francisco, the majority of Asian immigrants and others — including Russians and Mexicans — would be ferried to Angel Island to process their papers.[1] From 1910 to 1940, most of approximately 175,000 Chinese immigrants who came to the U.S. were detained on Angel Island for as little as two weeks or as much as six months. A few, however, were forced to remain on the island for as much as two years.[2] To compare, for most European immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, often known as “Island of Tears,” those with their health and with immigration-related papers in order were free to leave the immigration station after an average of 3–5 hours.[3]
In July 2024, ESJF board members and educators visited Angel Island, the largest natural island in the San Francisco Bay, to learn about U.S. immigration policies from 1910 to 1940 at the island’s immigration station. Emily Yi, a middle school teacher in Palo Alto, wrote a reflection from the trip. Click the button blow to read it.
Discriminatory Laws Against Asian Americans
In the 20th century, both federal and state governments continued issuing various racially discriminatory laws against Asian immigrants. Some of anti-Asian laws during the 20th century include:
U.S. State Government
Submitted by Sung Sohn
[1] Chronicle Columnist, “Asian immigration to S.F. started at Brannan St.,” SFGATE, June 25, 2012, https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nativeson/article/Asian-immigration-to-S-F-started-at-Brannan-St-3658228.php
[2] California State parks, “Immigration Station,” https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1309#:~:text=During%20the%20next%2030%20years,as%20much%20as%20two%20years.
[3] The Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., “Ellis Island,” https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/overview-history/#:~:text=If%20an%20immigrant's%20papers%20were,individual%20for%20obvious%20physical%20ailments.
[4] Sara Rimer, Equal Justice Initiative, “California’s Alien Land Laws,” May 2024, https://eji.org/news/californias-alien-land-laws/
[5] Immigration History, “Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934, https://immigrationhistory.org/item/tydings-mcduffie-act/#:~:text=AN%20ACT%20To%20provide%20for,Islands%2C%20and%20for%20other%20purposes.
Click the button below for the lesson plan Pearl Harbor and U.S. Entry into WWII or ESJF’s intern Esmé Lee-Gardner’s research on gender and race-based discrimination, in particular, that incarcerated multiracial Japanese Americans faced at the camps.
The discrimination against Asian immigrants in the 19th century continued into the 20th century. This summary looks into anti-Asian discriminatory cases through the U.S. immigration policies regarding Asian immigrants at Angel Island Immigration Station in the San Francisco Bay area and anti-Asian laws.
U.S. Immigration Policies
Before Angel Island Immigration Station opened in 1910, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company’s dock on Pier 36 in San Francisco had been used as a landing point for Asian immigrants to the U.S. for about 40 years. Though Europeans and travelers with first- or second-class tickets could disembark in San Francisco, the majority of Asian immigrants and others — including Russians and Mexicans — would be ferried to Angel Island to process their papers.[1] From 1910 to 1940, most of approximately 175,000 Chinese immigrants who came to the U.S. were detained on Angel Island for as little as two weeks or as much as six months. A few, however, were forced to remain on the island for as much as two years.[2] To compare, for most European immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, often known as “Island of Tears,” those with their health and with immigration-related papers in order were free to leave the immigration station after an average of 3–5 hours.[3]
In July 2024, ESJF board members and educators visited Angel Island, the largest natural island in the San Francisco Bay, to learn about U.S. immigration policies from 1910 to 1940 at the island’s immigration station. Emily Yi, a middle school teacher in Palo Alto, wrote a reflection from the trip. Click the button blow to read it.
Discriminatory Laws Against Asian Americans
In the 20th century, both federal and state governments continued issuing various racially discriminatory laws against Asian immigrants. Some of anti-Asian laws during the 20th century include:
U.S. State Government
- California Alien Land Law (1913) – This law barred non-citizens from owning agricultural land or renting it for more than three years. Although this law applied to non-citizens, it mostly targeted Asian immigrants, including Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Korean farmers, who were unable to apply for citizenship under immigration laws at the time. After the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Law, the Alien Land Law targeted about 40,000 Japanese people living in California.[4] In April 1952, in Fujii v. California, a three-judge panel of the California’s District Court of Appeal ruled that the 1913 law was unconstitutional as it violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Three months later, the California Supreme Court also ruled in favor of Masaoka in the case of Haruye Masaoka v. California, finally overturning the state’s Alien Land Law of 1913.
- Oriental Exclusion Act (1924) – As part of the 1924 Immigration Act, this act banned all Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people from immigrating to the U.S. Asian immigrants were denied citizenship and naturalization and prevented from marrying white Americans or owning land. Filipino nationals were exceptions to this law due to the Spanish-American War. In 1898, under the Treaty of Paris, Spain transferred its colony of the Philippines to the U.S., rather than acknowledging the Philippines’ declaration of independence. The U.S. annexed the Philippines. For the next three years, Filipino nationalists fought against America, seeking independence instead of a change in colonial rulers, without success. During the 1920s, single Filipinos migrated in large numbers to the West Coast to work, providing cheap labor. However, in 1935, the Tydings-McDuffie Act was passed, limiting an annual quota of fifty on Filipino migration.[5]
- Japanese Relocation Act (1942) – In Asia, during the early to mid-20th century, Japan expanded its imperialistic influence. In July 1941, the U.S. responded to Japan’s growing power by seizing all Japanese assets in the U.S. The U.S. also put an embargo on oil sales and scrap metal to Japan. On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. About two months after the attack, the Japanese Relocation Act of 1942 forced an estimated 120,000 Japanese Americans into what was then called “internment camps,” where men, women, and children endured harsh conditions, discrimination, and violence.
Submitted by Sung Sohn
[1] Chronicle Columnist, “Asian immigration to S.F. started at Brannan St.,” SFGATE, June 25, 2012, https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nativeson/article/Asian-immigration-to-S-F-started-at-Brannan-St-3658228.php
[2] California State parks, “Immigration Station,” https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1309#:~:text=During%20the%20next%2030%20years,as%20much%20as%20two%20years.
[3] The Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., “Ellis Island,” https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/overview-history/#:~:text=If%20an%20immigrant's%20papers%20were,individual%20for%20obvious%20physical%20ailments.
[4] Sara Rimer, Equal Justice Initiative, “California’s Alien Land Laws,” May 2024, https://eji.org/news/californias-alien-land-laws/
[5] Immigration History, “Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934, https://immigrationhistory.org/item/tydings-mcduffie-act/#:~:text=AN%20ACT%20To%20provide%20for,Islands%2C%20and%20for%20other%20purposes.
Click the button below for the lesson plan Pearl Harbor and U.S. Entry into WWII or ESJF’s intern Esmé Lee-Gardner’s research on gender and race-based discrimination, in particular, that incarcerated multiracial Japanese Americans faced at the camps.