For 30 years, from 1910 to 1940, Angel Island was the West Coast point of entry for immigrants seeking entry to America. But how a person was treated there depended heavily on where they had come from.
Angel Island is often referred to as the "Ellis Island of the West," and it is true that both Immigrations stations servied the same basic purpose. But Judy Yung, co-author of Angel Island, Immigrant Gateway to America, says the two stations actually received quite different populations, and treated them very differently as well.
While they were ablto to locate and interview a few surviving Angel Island detainees, Yung says the bulk of the research that went into the book was drawn from documents and personal histories from 1910-1940, the years when the Immigration station was active.