Speech #890088111

By now. with the passage of time. many of the bitter memories are gone and Ellis Island represents to these people and their descendants their entrance upon a new and fuller life which is the realization of hopes far exceeding the great expectations which they carried from the countries of their birth. Ellis Island is the place where our country received much of the richest treasure we ownour peopleendowed with an almost infinite variety of strengths. Many of these people were refugees escaping from a whole range of oppressive circumstances. They were. as the poet said. tired. and they were poor. But they found their asylum here and each. in his own way and place. began a new life which became a part of the fabric of our growing Nation. We are reminded daily that we welcomed not only the tired and the poor. but also the richly talented of every landwe welcomed their creativity and their courage and their ambition. We see now. and proudly acknowledge the contributions which have been made by the immigrant and the refugee to the scientific. technical. artistic. cultural. and academic life of our country. We can. therefore. believe that our country has been made strong and rich and beautiful by a sort of Peace Corps in reverse which has been going on through the generations. There will be millions of Americans who will rejoice that Ellis Island has been recognized as a shrine which symbolizes this central core of our Nations history. But it is not only the history of the immigrant and the refugee which comes to focus here. it is also the belief in liberty and freedom symbolized by the Statue of Liberty which becomes a significant part of the publics interest in this new development. So. not only the sons and daughters of the immigrants who entered this country through Ellis Island. but also the devotees of freedom who came at other times and other places. will make their pilgrimage here. Ellis Island consists of approximately 27.5 acres and is located in upper New York Bay in close proximity to Liberty Island. upon which the Statue of Liberty National Monument is situated. and to the Jersey City waterfront. Named for its 18th century owner. Ellis Island came into Federal possession in 1800. It was placed under the control of the Federal Bureau of Immigration in 1890 for development as an immigration station. Ellis Island is a physical symbol of the great turnofthecentury immigrant wave. As the immigrant control point of the Nations largest port. Ellis Island Station was host to 70 percent. or upwards of more than 16 million. of all those entering this country between 1892 and 1954. The Ellis Island immigration station was disestablished in 1954. and since that date the island has been under the custody and control of the General Services Administration. Proposed developments of the island include the rehabilitation of the main immigration building and another building for administrative and public service uses. the rehabilitation of the ferry basin. existing utility services. and the seawall. and the landscaping of the grounds. Total costs of all developments are tentatively estimated at $6 million. of which approximately $2.540.000 would be expended during the first 5 years after establishment of the national monument. I believe that there will be many thousands of persons who visit the new Ellis Island who will come away with a fresh understanding of the heritage of courage and of hope which the island symbolizes not only to the immigrant and the refugee. but to all the people of our country. Mr. Speaker.