Incredible Photos Of Immigrants Arriving At Ellis Island

The Internal Security Act

In 1950. a new act made it even harder for people to enter the country. The Internal Security Act of 1950 prevented people with links (however tenuous) to communist and fascist organizations from entering the country. Ellis Island was primarily being used as an office and storage space for the U.S. Coast Card by this time. A few years later, in 1954, all of the 33 structures on Ellis Island were officially closed and the island was declared surplus property and placed under the jurisdiction of the General Services Administration.