A Network of Thieves -- The Immigrant Experience with Crooks, Thieves, and Bandits, A Report from 1882

Millions of immigrants arrived in America in the late nineteenth century at Castle Gardens, the precursor to Ellis Island. While many people today might imagine Castle Garden as a safe haven after the arduous Atlantic crossing, there was a dark underbelly to the immigration story that opens us to the sordid history of the era.

It is 1882 – As waves of newcomers from Europe arrive on American shores, they are greeted not by ticker-tape parades or relatives eager to welcome their family member to the US, but by a group of unscrupulous individuals who have created a thriving network of graft, corruption, and exploitation.

These criminals, often operating under the guise of “immigrant agents,” promise to help newcomers find work, housing, and a better life in America. Instead of offering genuine assistance, thought, they demand exorbitant fees, force immigrants to purchase overpriced goods, and even attempted to sell them into indentured servitude. The corruption ran deep into the officials running Castle Garden. Some observers estimate that these forces of evil siphoned off millions of dollars from immigrants, leaving many destitute and unable to start their American journeys on a strong footing.

Preying on its newest arrivals because they are vulnerable is a particularly despicable act that reveals a fundamentally evil side of human life. To understand George Remus’s immigration story, we must shine a light on this dark stain on American history.