Almost 12 Million Immigrants Were Processed Through The Immigration GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

Almost 12 million immigrants were processed through the immigration station on Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954 when the station closed. By 1924, however, the number of immigrants being processed at Ellis Island had been significantly reduced by anti-immigration legislation designed to establish quotas by nationality. This legislation dramatically reduced the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States.

The Emergency Quota Act, passed in 1921, ended the United States’ open door immigration policy. The law significantly reduced the number of admissions by setting quotas according to nationality. The number of people of each nationality that could be admitted to the United States was limited to 3% of that nationality’s representation in the U.S. census of 1910. The law created havoc for those on Ellis Island and thousands of immigrants were stranded on the island awaiting deportation. The island sometimes became so overcrowded that officials had to admit excess-quota immigrants.

The First Quota Act was replaced with the even more restrictive Immigration Act of 1924. This act further limited admissions of each nationality to the United States to 2% of that nationality’s representation in the 1890 census. The act sought not only to limit admissions to the United States, but also to curtail immigration of southern and eastern Europeans, who by the 1900s comprised over 50% of the immigrant flow. Additionally, the Immigration Act of 1924 allowed prospective immigrants to undergo inspection before they left their homeland, making the trip to Ellis Island unnecessary.

Anti-immigration legislation passed in the 1920s, as well as the Great Depression, kept immigration at an all-time low. For the first time in Ellis Island’s history, deportation far outnumbered admissions. In view of this situation, the Ellis Island Advisory Committee (a committee appointed by the Department of Labor under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program) advised that new buildings be erected for detained immigrants to separate them from deportees, who were often criminals. This final surge of construction included the new immigration building, the new ferry house, and the new recreation building and recreation shelters.

“Almost 12 million immigrants were processed through the immigration”- is a GMAT reading comprehension exercise. Candidates need to be highly proficient in GMAT reading comprehension. There are five comprehension questions in this GMAT reading comprehension section. The purpose of the GMAT Reading Comprehension questions is to evaluate candidates' comprehension, analysis, and application skills. Candidates who are actively preparing can benefit from GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solutions and Explanation

1. According to the passage, what was the main reason that immigration numbers fell during the 1920s?

1. the enactment of anti-immigration legislation
2. the Great Depression
3. overcrowding at Ellis Island
4. overwhelming disease
5. None of these are accurate.

2. Which best represents the main idea of the passage?

1. Quota legislation was designed to control the number of immigrants based on their nationality.
2. Due to criminality, a series of quotas were designed and implemented.
3. The Emergency Quota was enacted to ostensibly shut the door on the United States’ open door policy until after the Great Depression.
4. The enactment of quotas only allowed 1% of one nationality that was currently represented in the United States in at a time.
5. The threat of deportation caused widespread panic on Ellis Island during the 1920s.

3. The tone of the passage would be best described as:

1. restrained
2. nostalgic
3. inflammatory
4. informative
5. contemptuous

4. The Immigration Act of 1924 would most likely negatively affect which of the following groups of people?

1. the Ellis Island Advisory Committee
2. citizens of Greece wishing to emigrate
3. citizens of Great Britain wishing to emigrate
4. the Lower East Side of New York City
5. citizens of Italy and Great Britain wishing to emigrate

5. What is the purpose of the fourth paragraph?

1. to support a theory previously expanded on
2. to paraphrase the information already given and reach a general conclusion
3. to refute the facts provided
4. to pinpoint specific problems with the outcome of previous paragraphs
5. to criticize an institution

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