Immigration files to become part of National Archives

Posted by : Myo

Anna Gorman of the L.A. Times has a story that might be of interest to immigration researchers. Government files that chronicle the lives of immigrants in the U.S. will become part of the National Archives, officials have announced. The files reveal the stories of millions of immigrants, including Jews who fled EuropeI and Chinese who came to the U.S.. The "alien registration files," or A-files, document immigrants' interaction with the government through registration forms, interview transcripts, health records, photographs, marriage licenses and recordings

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services began transferring the documents for preservation by archivists during a signing ceremony at the National Archives in Washington. The immigration agency maintains about 53 million A-files. "The first group to be archived is composed of 135,000 people who were born before 1909 and arrived after 1900, including Spanish painter Salvador Dali and French performer Maurice Chevalier. The first files are expected to be available to the public starting next summer. In the past, A-files were considered `temporary records' and could have been discarded 75 years from the date of last action. Now, they will become permanent records to be housed in either San Bruno, Calif., or Kansas City, Mo."

Blogster extraordinaire Bill Hing is quoted in the story.