The Angel Island Chinese Migration Monument
Many immigrants from China sought out opportunities to gain more wealth in America during the Gold Rush in the Western coast of America. During this time, discriminatory policies, like the Exclusion Act, worked towards preventing this migrant community from entering the U.S. Similar to Ellis Island, Angel Island was the Immigration Station Chinese immigrants had to pass through to enter the U.S. There they were harshly interrogated and sometimes held for months before being allowed entry or being deported back to China. Detainees who were in the Immigration Station's jail for longer periods of time wrote poems about their experience. This memorial is meant to remember those who attempted to get into America but did not make it.
The memorial has the statement "Leaving their homes and villages, they crossed the ocean only to endure confinement in these barracks. Conquering frontiers and barriers, they pioneered a new life by the Golden Gate" in Mandarin on it. At the top of the surfboard shaped monument is a design of a flower. The flower and words are in white on the gray monument. It stands on a white pedestal near a sandy area with benches for seating near it. Next to it is a small plaque with a short description of the memorial.