Between 1892 and 1954, approximately 12 million immigrants arrived at the now-iconic Ellis Island to enter the United States — or nearly 200,000 legal entries per year. All were registered, documented and given rudimentary health exams. They arrived as rich and poor, white and non-white and, without exception, legally. With the gradual decline of such great influxes, Ellis Island finally ceased operating roughly 71 years ago. Yet Ellis Island’s successful tenure offers a sharp contrast to the