Published: January 03, 2012

Where and When, U.S. Census Bureau Knows The Immigrant Answer

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

SUNDAY, JANUARY 1 : ELLIS ISLAND OPENS

Profile America -- Sunday, January 1st.

The place where many of our ancestors first stepped ashore when they came to America seeking a new life opened on this date in 1892 -- Ellis Island in New York Harbor.

The very first immigrant processed at the new facility was a 15-year- old Irish girl named Annie Moore. Over the course of more than 60 years, some 12 million people flowed through the center.

Some sources say the number is considerably higher.

The peak year was 1907, when just over a million immigrants came to Ellis Island.

The complex now belongs to the National Park Service and is visited by several million people a year.

In 1910, the foreign-born represented some 15 percent of America's population. Now, that figure is 12 1/2 percent.

You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2012, p. 66
www.ellisisland.org
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 8, 14
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 38

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau