Kid immigrants have been arriving alone since Ellis Island

kidsellisislandIn 1892, the first immigrant to enter the U.S. at the new Ellis Island immigration facility was an unaccompanied 15-year-old minor.

Not only was she not greeted by howling racists, their faces distorted with unfathomable rage, but she got a certificate and a gold coin.

Bill Moyers reports:

An unaccompanied child migrant was the first person in line on opening day of the new immigration station at Ellis Island Her name was Annie Moore, and that day, January 1, 1892, happened to be her 15th birthday. She had traveled with her two little brothers from Cork County, Ireland, and when they walked off the gangplank, she was awarded a certificate and a $10 gold coin for being the first to register.

Mas…Kid immigrants have been arriving alone since Ellis Island

Uncle Sam’s migracorrido ‘La Bestia (The Death Train)’ (music, lyrics)


From Central America comes this ballad that’s fast rising the Latin American charts. It’s all about the dangerous Death Train that Central American drug war refugees ride on their way across Mexico enroute to El Norte. In Spanish they call the train The Beast — La Bestia.

And who is the man behind this music? It’s a name we all love, but who knew he could sing!? This track comes from Uncle Sam, who hired an ad agency to make a hit record.

Mas…Uncle Sam’s migracorrido ‘La Bestia (The Death Train)’ (music, lyrics)