In 1890, a Select Committee of Congressmen decided to replace Castle Garden, an immigration depot run by the State of New York, with a federally managed facility. Liberty Island, with its beloved Statue, seemed the perfect place for it. Why, then, was the depot put on Ellis Island instead? In the 1880s, Italian immigration to the US grew rapidly, as did widespread anti-Italian sentiment.

This attitude was voiced in contemporary newspapers, such as the New Haven Morning Journal and Courier, whose editor stated, in the May 5, 1882 edition, “Most of the emigrants now arriving at our ports are very desirable additions to our population... the only immigrants who are wholly undesirable are the Italians.” This feeling was echoed by the New York Sun on November 28, 1887: “Probably the worst immigration we receive is that from Italy.”

By the fall of 1889, it was clear that officials operating the Castle Garden facility were overwhelmed by the increasing flood of foreigners. Although fewer people were coming from Germany, Ireland and Great Britain, arrivals from Italy more than doubled between 1889 and 1890.

A Select Committee of the House of Representatives decreed that “the enforcement of all acts designed to regulate immigration should be entrusted to the Federal Government and not to the States.” Castle Garden would be replaced by a federal center, and William Windom, the Secretary of State, was tasked with finding a location for the new installation.

In February 1890, Windom toured potential sites in New York Bay. He approached Ellis Island to assess its merits. But in his opinion, it had none. Its shallow waters prevented his vessel from landing, and it was already in use as an ammunition dump. In his words, “it was not a desirable place” for an immigration depot. Instead, he favored Liberty Island with its iconic Statue. He thought Lady Liberty should be the first thing the immigrants would see, “as she lighted their way up the harbor and welcomed them to America.” However, the anti-Italian sentiment of some Congressmen led to the opinion that “the Goddess of Liberty would gather up her skirts in disdain and contempt of the immigrants from foreign countries, and the arrival of the immigrants upon our shores would contaminate her.”

Congress quickly overturned Windom’s plan to erect an immigration facility at the feet of Lady Liberty. On April 11, 1890, lawmakers approved a joint resolution designating Ellis Island as the site of the new station. The next day, President Harrison endorsed their decision. The editor of the New York World declared, “Liberty Island is saved! The Goddess holds her own, and the touch of the vandal will not desecrate the tiny island where she has her majestic stand.” On January 1, 1892, the nation’s storied immigration center opened on Ellis Island, and a half mile of open water would keep the foreigners away from the Statue of Liberty.