[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 751]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              IN HONOR OF ANGEL ISLAND IMMIGRATION STATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 26, 2010

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today with a mixture of sorrow and 
pride to honor the Angel Island Immigration Station on its 100th 
anniversary--sorrow because of the Station's history of unjust 
treatment of immigrants, especially those from China, and pride because 
we are now acknowledging and respecting the struggle and courage of 
these immigrants.
  Located off the coast of Tiburon, California, in Angel Island State 
Park in San Francisco Bay, the Station is the site of the detention of 
175,000 Chinese immigrants from 1910 to 1940. Because of the Chinese 
Exclusion Act, many of them were held for weeks, months or years in a 
prison-like barracks where life was difficult and humiliating.
  The ghosts of these people speak to us through poetry written and 
etched into the walls of these barracks. The experiences reflected here 
remind us that it is essential to treat all people with dignity and 
respect. In today's debates about immigration policy, at a time when we 
have moved beyond the inhumanity of the Chinese Exclusion Act, these 
ghosts tell us to learn from our past and set a new course that 
reflects who we are as a nation.
  And now, thanks to the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation 
and its many supporters and partners, including the California State 
Parks and the National Park Service, the Immigration Station is being 
restored. It helps us understand this rich and complex history by 
hosting more than 50,000 people, including 30,000 schoolchildren, every 
year.
  Angel Island itself was once inhabited by the native Miwoks and was 
discovered by Europeans in 1769. It has served for both cattle ranching 
and military uses, from the Civil War era Camp Reynolds to a base for 
Nike missiles in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1891, a quarantine station for 
immigrants was established and, on January 21, 1910, over 200 Chinese 
immigrants shipped from San Francisco marked the opening of the Angel 
Island Immigration Station. It was officially closed in 1946, and many 
of the barracks were razed when the Island became a State Park in 1957. 
Today, the Park's stunning views and abundant wildlife complement the 
historic structures.
  As a mother and grandmother, I am grateful that the restored Angel 
Island Immigration Station will continue to keep the past alive for our 
young people. And as the Congresswoman representing this unique 
resource, I have had the privilege of participating in its 
rehabilitation by securing Federal funding for a bi-partisan effort 
that recognizes that we all have a stake in remembering that America is 
a nation of immigrants.
  Madam Speaker, Angel Island Immigration Station today, on the 
occasion of its 100th anniversary, is both a reminder and a challenge. 
It reminds us that America hasn't always lived up to its highest ideals 
of freedom and equality. But it challenges us to live up to those 
ideals now and in the future. One of the poems from its walls 
poignantly serves to educate and inspire us:

     In the quiet of night, I heard, faintly, the whistling of 
           wind.
     The forms and shadows saddened me; upon seeing the landscape, 
           I composed a poem.
     The floating clouds, the fog, darken the sky.
     The moon shines faintly as the insects chirp.
     Grief and bitterness entwined are heaven sent.
     The sad person sits alone, leaning by a window.

                          ____________________