Ellis Island | Yearning to Breathe Free

In the mid-19th century, a group of men known as "immigrant runners" prowled the docks of lower Manhattan, preying on newly arrived Europeans. One common scam: a runner would greet a family warmly, claim to be from the same Irish county, offer to carry their trunk—and then demand a $15 fee to get it back, storing it at a tavern until the ransom was paid. This was the chaotic world immigrants faced before the federal government established Ellis Island, a processing center that would become the gateway for 12 million people and one of the largest human migrations in global history.

The Era of Exploitation and Castle Garden

Before federal oversight, immigration regulation was left to the states. In the 1840s, as the Great Potato Famine drove hundreds of thousands of Irish to America alongside Germans fleeing crop failures and political upheaval, New York became the busiest port of entry—and a hunting ground for swindlers. The most powerful was Isaiah Rynders, a former knife fighter and Democratic Party boss who ran a network of thieves, tavern owners, and prostitutes. His runners steered newcomers to his saloons and brothels, using the profits to fuel the local political machine.