PBS Documentary About Ellis Island Hospital

To say that I was startled does not even begin to describe it.  Forgotten Ellis Island (2008).  I was expecting a hit piece emphasizing the 1924 immigration law, eugenics, and what a horrible nation America is.  While eugenics was part of the story, it was also a story about how the U.S. built one of the best hospitals in the world to treat incoming immigrants regarded as too sick for immediate entry.  Some were deemed incurable and contagious (especially considering what was available at the time), some feebleminded, some were mentally ill.  These were deported.  But many were treated and allowed to enter the U.S.

For every depressing quote from a Public Health Service doctor awash in eugenics, there were examples of doctors challenging these ideas, and doctors and nurses engaging in humane and decent treatment of people with whom language was often a barrier.