Mental Competence
United States officials were quite concerned about the immigrant’s ability to work. Part of the medical inspection was gauging mental fitness and competence to work. They would watch immigrants for signs of physical or mental deficiency as soon as they entered the doors. Officials did not want immigrants to enter the United States and have to rely on public aid or “likely to become a public charge.” If the immigrant had severe signs of mental incompetence, the immigrant could be deported. One anecdote cited on the Save Ellis Island tour has an unnamed woman undergoing interrogation to figure out her mental fitness during her inspection. They asked her about the right way to wash stairs, from the top down, or bottom up. Showing a sharp wit, she shot back at them, “Sir, I did not come to America to wash stairs.”