Fiona a is h £t Jo Tomlinson

Track 10
Lecturer: 
This m orning I’d like to focus on New York as a m odel fo r understanding im m igratio n patterns 
in relation to 
national
ra th e r than 
international
change. Firstly, it is im p orta nt to understand that 
m igration patterns are p rim a rily affected by the rules of im m igratio n which determ ine the conditions 
of entry. A fte r that, in te rn a l changes can affect patterns considerably. To h ighlight my firs t point le t’s 
study this diagram of E llis Island and the process of adm itting im m ig ra n ts in the late nineteenth and 
early tw entieth centuries. Upon a rriv a l at Ellis Island, people underw ent a series of exam inations 
and questions before being allowed to enter the US. F irst of all, there was a m edical inspection to 
ensure the im m igran ts were not bringing in any contagious diseases. Anyone who did not pass the 
m edical exam ination was refused entry to New York and sent home on the next available sh ip . If the 
exam ination was passed, im m ig ra n ts were reguired to take a fu rth e r exam ination: this tim e a legal 
exam ination to establish w h e th e r thev had any c rim in a l convictions. A fte r this, im m igran ts were able 
to change currency and purchase ticke ts fo r onward ra il trave l from New York. Having completed 
th is sim ple process, im m ig ra n ts were told to w ait - this w ait could be as long as five hours - before 
boarding a fe rry to take them to New York City. This sim ple system allowed m illio n s of im m igran ts 
to enter the US and is largely responsible fo r the ethnic m ake-up of the city today. Even though the 
im m igran ts them selves may have had a variety of reasons fo r deciding to m igrate, it was only possible 
because of US national im m igratio n laws.
Moving on to the second point - how changes 
within
a country can have as much o r m ore of an 
effect than those 
outside
the country. Various parts of New York have changed radically in th e ir ethnic