Conclusion

Abstract

This chapter explores the 1954 closing of Ellis Island in the context of Chinese New Yorkers who were profoundly affected by the Red Scare. All immigrant radicals faced the threat of deportation, but this was particularly significant for Chinese who were more likely to be illegally in the United States, who were closely surveilled and who were suspected even if they were not radicals. Despite the end of Chinese exclusion in 1943, Chinese immigrants in New York and across the country remained particularly vulnerable to the threat of deportation. These threats fostered anxieties about Chinese people’s loyalties and place within the United States. Throughout the postwar period, deportation practices were expanded through four intersecting practices: voluntary departure procedures, parole practices, locally contracted detention centers, and the extension of inspection and deportation to airports throughout the United States. These practices dispersed immigration regulation away from traditional stations, leading to the closing of Ellis Island.