Twelve million immigrants came through Ellis Island during the station's peak years. What was that experience like? What motivated people to come? How did a small island in New York Harbor become the famous site that it is today - a place that visitors now flock to instead of immigrants? In the February issue, we answer these questions and more, as we try to capture the excitement, heartache, and fear that immigrants experienced as they landed at Ellis Island and hoped to be allowed to enter America. Their time at the station was spent waiting on lines for medical exams, legal exams, literacy exams, and meals. The fear of delay, detention, or being sent back to their native country hung over all immigrants, but their desire to start a new life in the United States saw through most of the millions who came.
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