After finding their way from the ship. the children were shuffled roughly through the Ellis Island processing line. Alone and frightened. they gave their names to a young man in a blue jacket who told them to stay where they were until he returned. A short time later. he arrived with another similarly clad official and a tall imposing figure wearing a bushy moustache and carrying a bag of fruit. "Do you recognize this man." one of the men asked pointing to the stranger. "No" they replied. "Weve never seen him before." The stranger was dismayed and deeply hurt that his own children did not recognize him. but that was a typical consequence of what immigrants endured in order to bring their families to America. Frightened that his children would be returned to Italy because of mistaken identity. he returned to his home in North Adams to find a lawyer that could plead his case. After more than a week of internment in the cold. lonely Ellis Island processing
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immigrants