Letter from Commissioner of Immigration on Race Classifications
1/19/1900
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This letter from the Office of US Commissioner of Immigration discusses a plan in connection with immigration statistics to classify the location from which the immigration came, as well as the birthplace, religion, and other general characteristics the immigrant owns. It is part of "Wright and Crater's Investigation" of immigrant arrival procedures on Ellis Island from 1901–1902. In August 1901, Commissioner of Immigration at New York, Thomas Fitchie, detailed Immigrant Inspectors John A. Wright and Robert S. Crater to initiate an investigation into the inspection of arrivals at the dock on Ellis Island, focusing on those claiming citizenship. The investigation was triggered by the arrest of a steward for bribing a boarding officer. In a brief but intense period of study, major discrepancies in the rate of discharge were found among employees, with very divergent levels of adherence to procedures in the Boarding Division. The question arose of whether this insufficient scrutiny of citizenship claims was associated with bribery.
This document was digitized by teachers in our Primarily Teaching 2014 Summer Workshop in Washington, D.C.
This document was digitized by teachers in our Primarily Teaching 2014 Summer Workshop in Washington, D.C.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
National Archives Identifier: 29915439
Full Citation: Letter from the Commissioner of Immigration to the Commissioner General of Immigration Regarding Race Classifications for Immigration; 1/19/1900; 52727/004; Wright and Crater's Investigation of Immigrant Arrival Procedures on Ellis Island, 1901 - 1902; Subject and Policy Files, 1893 - 1957; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Record Group 85; National Archives at Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/letter-commissioner-immigration-race-classifications, March 29, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.