The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was America's first law restricting immigration based on nationality. It banned Chinese laborers for ten years - then was renewed, strengthened, and made permanent until 1943. Exempt categories existed: merchants, diplomats, students, teachers, and American-born citizens. But proving exempt status required documentation that could be forged or bought. 'Paper sons' claimed to be children of American citizens (the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed birth records, creating opportunities). Angel Island was built specifically to enforce exclusion - to interrogate, detain, and deport. The station processed immigrants from 84 countries, but Chinese faced the harshest treatment.

Chinese immigrants faced detailed interrogations designed to catch inconsistencies. Questions covered village layouts, family details, and minutiae no legitimate family member could possibly remember identically. How many steps to your front door? What direction does your house face? Who lived in the third house in your row? Applicants and their witnesses were questioned separately; any discrepancy meant denial. Coaching books circulated with standard answers; inspectors obtained copies and changed questions. The process took weeks - sometimes months. Those denied could appeal, extending detention. Some were deported after a year of waiting. The presumption was guilt; the burden was proving innocence.

In the detention barracks, immigrants wrote on the walls. Some used brushes and ink; others carved characters into the wood with knives. The poems expressed homesickness, anger, and determination. 'Imprisoned in the wooden building day after day / My freedom withheld; how can I bear to talk about it?' wrote one detainee. Another: 'America has power, but not justice / In prison, we were victimized as if we were guilty.' Over 200 poems were carved into the walls before the station closed. When the barracks were scheduled for demolition in 1970, a state park ranger discovered the poetry. The poems saved the building; the building preserved the poems.

The immigration station closed in 1940 after a fire destroyed the administration building. The barracks became a quarantine station, then were abandoned. Demolition was scheduled for 1970 when California State Park Ranger Alexander Weiss discovered the wall poetry and alerted historians. The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation formed to preserve and interpret the site. The barracks were restored; the poetry was conserved and translated. The station became a National Historic Landmark in 1997. Today, visitors can see the carved and brushed poems, hear the interrogation questions, and walk the same hallways where 175,000 Chinese immigrants waited to learn if America would let them stay.

Angel Island State Park is accessible by ferry from San Francisco (Pier 41) or Tiburon. The Immigration Station is a separate site requiring additional transportation (tram or hiking) from the ferry dock. Guided tours of the Immigration Station are offered daily; reservations are recommended. The restored barracks display the original wall poetry with translations and historical context. A museum presents immigration history through photographs, documents, and personal stories. The island also offers hiking, biking, and views of the Bay Area. Allow a full day; ferry schedules are limited. The Immigration Station is open year-round; check schedules before visiting.