The federal immigration station opened on January 1, 1892 and was closed in 1954, with twelve million immigrants processed there by the United States Bureau of Immigration After the Immigration Act of 1924 was passed, which greatly restricted immigration and allowed processing at overseas embassies, the only immigrants to pass through the station were displaced persons or war refugees Today, over 100 million Americans - one third of the population - can trace their ancestry to the immigrants who first arrived in America at Ellis Island before dispersing to points all over the country.