Who Came Through Ellis Island? A Mosaic of Global Origins

Ellis Island's arrivals reflected the shifting tides of global migration:

• Southern & Eastern Europeans—Italians, Poles, Russians, Greeks (largest groups, 1890s–1920s).
• British Isles—English, Scots, Irish, Welsh (steady flow throughout).
• Scandinavians—Swedes, Norwegians, Danes (peaked late 19th century).
• Other Europeans—Germans, French, Swiss, Austro-Hungarians.
• Non-Europeans—Chinese, Japanese, Middle Easterners (though Asian immigration was heavily restricted after 1882).

By 1924, national-origin quotas drastically reduced Southern/Eastern European and Asian arrivals, reshaping the demographic profile until the station's closure in 1954.