Detained for Paperwork problems
German immigrant Joseph Haas arrived at Ellis Island when he was fourteen, headed to relatives in Spring Green, Wisconsin. His travel companions received white cards before they boarded the ferry from their ship to Ellis Island. But the shipboard doctor doing some preliminary onboard exams gave Haas a yellow card, indicating his case would be decided by the Board of Special Inquiry. Haas didn’t know why. He says, “…when they walked down that ramp, most guys had a while card went to a different direction, see. And I got to the gate. All of a sudden, the guy grabbed the yellow card, and the officer grabbed me by the shoulder, opened the door, and pushed me in the Ellis, into that chamber.” Nobody told Haas why he was detained, nor spoke enough German to answer his questions. “It was kind of a sad place.”