The topic of illegal immigration seems to be a very hot topic for many Americans. The topic seems to lose public attention on both sides at any moment, and then suddenly cause tremendous tremors in our social conscience. The issue of illegal immigration has many sub-issues, but one of the most problematic is that illegal immigrants represent a financial drain on the American economy. Ellis Island is where European immigrants passed through and were documented. According to June F. Tyler, “Before 1890 each state handled immigration under its own rules. After that date the federal government assumed this responsibility. Ellis Island became the first immigration station, opening for business in 1892.”(1) Information obtained through the website ellisisland.org states that: In 1921, 560,971 immigrants arrived at our borders and passed through Ellis Island. That same year, the United States Congress passed the first immigration quota law. The total number of immigrants allowed to enter was set at nearly 358,000. The Immigration Act of 1924 further restricted immigration and reduced the annual quota to approximately 164,000. This marked the end of mass immigration to America. The Immigration Act also provided for the screening and qualification of immigrants at U.S. consulates abroad.” (1) It is very important to note that each immigrant was examined for any potential physical or mental illness and it was determined whether the immigrant was able to provide for himself or herself without becoming a burden to the public. There is no way to know the exact number of illegal immigrants in our country at any given time, but in a study conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, “there were approximately 11.6 million u... middle of paper....... Web . July 2, 2010. .Hoefer, Micheal, Nancy Rytina, and Christopher Campbell. Estimates of the population of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States: January 2006. 2007. June 26, 2010. Malanga, Steven. “How Unskilled Immigrants Hurt Our Economy.” City-Journal (New York, NY) Summer 2006 June 7, 2004 Pitts, Byron. “Births of Illegal Immigrants – At Your Expense.” CBS News. CBS Interactive Inc., 2010. Web. July 7, 2010. .Temple, Andrea and June F. Tyler. Ellis Island A Historical Perspective. 2007. July 5 2010.