Partners of NARA's Pacific Region
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF)
The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about the one million immigrants who entered the "Ellis Island of the West" between 1910 and 1940. In partnership with the California State Parks, the National Park Service, and the National Archives, the AIISF seeks to restore the historic structures on the Immigration Station site and preserve the 300 poems and inscriptions in Chinese, Japanese, Punjabi and Russian. These writings on the barracks' walls speak of the isolation, anguish, and anger of these stranded souls seeking entrance to the United States in a time of racially biased immigration laws.
The Immigration Station was designated as a National Historical Landmark in 1997 and declared one of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places" in 1999.
To learn more, please visit www.aiisf.org
