Narrowing the Gate
In 1907, immigration laws tightened. Immigrants had to have at least twenty-five US dollars. They had to have the mental ability for employment. Lone children could not enter the United States alone. The United States prohibited people with discernible mental illness, at the time crudely called “idiots, imbeciles, epileptics, the feeble-minded, [and] insane.” Those labeled as having a mental condition were detained in the Psychopathic Ward on Ellis Island until they were deported or successfully plead their case for entry. The 1907 restrictions were just the start. In the years up to, during, and following World War I, the United States began tightening the requirements necessary for immigrant entry. Immigrants had to pass a literary test. Any new arrival over 16 years old had to be able to read 30 to 40 words in their native language. The literacy test was mandatory at Ellis Island until 1952.