Echoes of the Chinese Exclusion Era in Post-9/11 America‪.‬

From 1910 to 1940 the immigration station on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay served as the gateway and processing and detention center for an estimated 175,000 immigrants seeking to enter the United States. Most immigrants processed at the island facility were Asian; the majority was Chinese. The result of the discriminatory Chinese exclusion laws (1882-1943) that prohibited all but a few exempt classes of Chinese to apply for admission into the country, Angel Island embodied America's racist, gate-keeping efforts. It was especially designed to exclude and restrict immigrants believed to be a threat to the nation. The immigration station on Angel Island closed as a result of a fire in 1940. The exclusion laws targeting Chinese, the largest group to be detained on the island, were repealed in 1943. (1) Yet the repercussions of the Angel Island experience, and especially the types of immigration policies enforced on the island, have continuing relevance for all Americans in the twenty-first century. This essay connects the history of the Chinese Exclusion Era to contemporary discourses on immigration, race, and nation. In particular, it examines the ongoing relevance of the Chinese exclusion experience in our contemporary times. Especially after the terrorist attacks of September 11,2001, and the resulting American "war on terrorism," immigration policies changed, making the issues of racial profiling, the constitutional reach of the federal government, and the protection of civil liberties the source of much debate within the United States and around the world. While most historical comparisons concerning immigration and race before and after September 11,2001 focus on the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, the relevance of Chinese exclusion remains vitally important for us to remember. (2) This essay suggests a framework with which scholars, teachers, and community members can use the history of Angel Island and the Chinese Exclusion Era to better understand contemporary debates and changes in immigration in a post-September 11th United States.