The Port of Galveston, in Galveston, Texas, was the gateway for tens of thousands of immigrants to the Southwest of United States as an immigrant inspection station.
The immigration station located in Galveston brought a vast number of immigrants into the Southwest of the United States while it was in operation from when it opened until it closed. Although not as well known as the immigration station on Ellis Island, Galveston is probably best known for the influx of Jewish immigrants coming from Europe during this period, which is commonly referred to as the “Galveston Movement”. In addition, many have often described Galveston as The Ellis Island of the West” or a “Second Ellis Island.”(Silent Treatment, 65) However, immigrants from all over the world entered the United States through the Galveston immigration station, including those from Central and South America, Asia, and Europe. The flow of immigrants into the area also helped tourism to Galveston and thus, helped keep the city vibrant. Galveston was one of the largest cities in Texas until the hurricane of 1900 that devastated the city.
The immigration station located in Galveston was built on Pelican Island. “When the federal government replaced state administrations in processing immigrants at the turn of the century, efforts began to redirect the flow of immigration from the Northeast to Texas. Pelican Island became federal property, and the government constructed an immigration center and quarantine station there." The quarantine center was brought to fruition, as it was for many other immigration stations, because of the basic idea that immigrants brought with them diseases that could be spread to the American people. After an outbreak of yellow fever, the quarantine station on Pelican Island was up and running to ensure the disease did not reach the United States population. The quarantine center was based on the example set by Ellis Island, however, was not as large or efficient as the station in New York.
Although known as “The Ellis Island of the West”, Galveston did not have as many immigrants enter the United States through this port as there had been through Ellis Island. At a time, Galveston was one of the largest immigration stations in the west. "Between 1906 and 1914 nearly 50,000 immigrants arrived at Galveston, including Bohemians, Moravians, Galicians, Australians, Romanians, Swiss, English, Poles Italians, Dutch, and some 10,000 Jews."
Many immigrants entered the United States though the immigration station in Galveston, however, the most notable and the immigrant group that receives the most attention was the large Jewish population. Eventually, “between 1907 and 1914, approximately ten thousand Jews entered the United States through the port of Galveston, Texas.” (Silent Treatment, 65) There was a push for Jewish immigrants to enter the United States through Galveston instead of through the immigration station on Ellis Island in large part because “the vast majority of Jewish immigrants remained in the ghettos of New York “(Galveston: Ellis Island of the west, 4). Therefore, “a project of the Jewish Immigrants' Information Bureau in cooperation with the London-based Jewish Territorial Organization, Jewish philanthropists such as Jacob Schiff supported the Galveston Movement to stop the concentration of Jewish immigrants in the congested industrial cities of the northeastern United States by landing them in Texas instead of New York, and assisting them in finding jobs in the West. (Silent Treatment, 65)”Thus, there was a concentrated effort among the Jewish population to enter the United States through Galveston instead of Ellis Island.
There were also concerns among the Jewish population that anti-Semitic actions were behind the rejections of Jewish immigrants from these port of entries into the United States and Galveston immigration officials were no exception.“When rejections for “poor physiques” rose dramatically in early 1910, an investigation by Henry Berman, manager of the Jewish Immigrants' Information Bureau, disclosed that Galveston medical examiner Dr. Corput had been making anti-Semitic remarks, including a promise to do everything in his power to exclude Jewish immigrants. There were not as many Jewish lobbyists groups located in the southwest, particularly in Texas, as there were in New York. Therefore, the Jewish clout had not been established for those immigrants entering through the port of Galveston.
The immigration station at Galveston eventually shut down, and was greatly affected by the hurricane that hit the area. The great hurricane of 1900 greatly reduced the amount of activity through the port of Galveston and thus, impacted the immigration to the area. The hurricane also destroyed the quarantine station that was located on Pelican Island, which is now used as an attraction for tourists visiting the area. “The flow of immigration ceased in World War I, and the immigration center was demolished in 1972.” However, the impact of the immigrants entering Texas and the American southwest, particularly the Jewish immigrant population, was due largely in part to the Galveston port.