On this day, December 31, in 1891

U.S. officials prepared Ellis Island to be opened as a major port of entry for U.S. immigration. From 1992 to 1954, over 12 million immigrants, mostly Southern and Eastern Europeans, and almost all working class, passed through Ellis Island. Each person was required to undergo a short physical examination and answer a series of questions before being either admitted or rejected. It is interesting to compare the experience of the European immigrants at Ellis Island, to the forced medical procedures that individuals coming through the Quarantine Centers on the U.S.-Mexico border were subjected to around the same time. These harsh disinfection rituals included gasoline baths and DDT dusting. The term 'ethnic profiling' might be applicable.