"New York Has a Concentration Camp of Its Own": Japanese Confinement on Ellis Island during World War II

Although it has been overlooked in histories of both Ellis Island and Japanese American wartime confinement, Ellis Island was not only an immigration station but also a World War II "enemy alien" internment camp. Japanese New Yorkers varied in their responses to detention at Ellis Island, but they shared experiences of being separated from their families, confined in close quarters, and questioned about their loyalty. These experiences created complex conflicts of identity and loyalty for many detainees, with some insisting upon their Americanness and others seeking repatriation to Japan. Internees' families also struggled emotionally and financially. The use of Ellis Island as a World War II confinement site shows the ways in which immigration officials were well trained in the work of alien detention, immigration stations were used extensively as detention centers, and wartime actions against Japanese nationals were part of a broad history of Asian exclusion.