Prior to 1855, immigrants arriving at the port of New York were free to enter the United States if their vessel was checked and cleared for all "loathsome and contagious diseases." Between 1855 and 1890, approximately 8 million new immigrants traveling through the Port of New York were formally processed at Castle Garden in Battery Park by New York State immigration officials.

After 1890, the Federal government assumed responsibility for processing immigrants. All third class and steerage passengers bound for the port of New York were required to be inspected at the Ellis Island Immigration Station, where more than 12 million hopeful immigrants were processed between 1892 and 1954. For most, the medical and legal inspection process took only a few hours. Overall, only two percent of those immigrants were excluded from entering the United States and these were sent back at the steamship company's expense. The overwhelming majority of immigrants were free to begin new lives in America.

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