Angel Island Immigration Station Restoration and Preservation Act
PL 109-119 (H.R.606), enacted 12/01/2005

119 STAT. 2529
PUBLIC LAW 109–119—DEC. 1, 2005
Public Law 109–119
109th Congress
An Act
To authorize appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior for the restoration
of the Angel Island Immigration Station in the State of California.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Angel Island Immigration Station
Restoration and Preservation Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Angel Island Immigration Station, also known as
the Ellis Island of the West, is a National Historic Landmark.
(2) Between 1910 and 1940, the Angel Island Immigration
Station processed more than 1,000,000 immigrants and emi-
grants from around the world.
(3) The Angel Island Immigration Station contributes
greatly to our understanding of our Nation’s rich and complex
immigration history.
(4) The Angel Island Immigration Station was built to
enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and subsequent
immigration laws, which unfairly and severely restricted Asian
immigration.
(5) During their detention at the Angel Island Immigration
Station, Chinese detainees carved poems into the walls of the
detention barracks. More than 140 poems remain today, rep-
resenting the unique voices of immigrants awaiting entry to
this country.
(6) More than 50,000 people, including 30,000 school-
children, visit the Angel Island Immigration Station annually
to learn more about the experience of immigrants who have
traveled to our shores.
(7) The restoration of the Angel Island Immigration Station
and the preservation of the writings and drawings at the Angel
Island Immigration Station will ensure that future generations
also have the benefit of experiencing and appreciating this
great symbol of the perseverance of the immigrant spirit, and
of the diversity of this great Nation.
SEC. 3. RESTORATION.
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior $15,000,000
for restoring the Angel Island Immigration Station in the San
Francisco Bay, in coordination with the Angel Island Immigration
Angel Island
Immigration
Station
Restoration and
Preservation Act.
Dec. 1, 2005
[H.R. 606]
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119 STAT. 2530
PUBLIC LAW 109–119—DEC. 1, 2005
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 606:
SENATE REPORTS: No. 109–157 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 151 (2005):
May 23, considered and passed House.
Nov. 16, considered and passed Senate.
Station Foundation and the California Department of Parks and
Recreation.
(b) FEDERAL FUNDING.—Federal funding under this Act shall
not exceed 50 percent of the total funds from all sources spent
to restore the Angel Island Immigration Station.
(c) PRIORITY.—(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
funds appropriated pursuant to this Act shall be used for the
restoration of the Immigration Station Hospital on Angel Island.
(2) Any remaining funds in excess of the amount required
to carry out paragraph (1) shall be used solely for the restoration
of the Angel Island Immigration Station.
Approved December 1, 2005.
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