Every day, ships full of immigrants arrived at Ellis Island.
First class passengers got a quick look-over, and then were waved along.
The second-class and third-class passengers had a more thorough exam.
Sent up the long staircase and watched by health wardens for signs of exhaustion and heart problems.
Thirty seconds examination, and then a chalk mark on their clothes indicating their condition.
Waved into another room… a waiting room before boarding a ferry to New York and freedom and their future, or to the hospital to get well enough for the next ship back to where they came from.