Chapter 3 continues
The story so far: Paul and Katka are separated.
Paul glanced around. In the corner of his eye, he spotted the wide-brimmed purple hat. Elizabeth was watching him. Should he run? As if reading his mind, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn shook her head, no.
The immigration agent led Paul to a holding room just off the main hall. Inside, several men and a few women shifted uncomfortably on chairs. Everyone had an "A." Paul looked around at the crowded room. Each person, he imagined, had a story to tell, but not all had a cause for which to fight. Although some were socialists, anarchists, revolutionaries and political agitators, most were naturalized citizens of the United States, and some were even born in this country.
In New York, there had been several raids in the past few weeks. The police had arrested numerous famous people, one of whom was the Russian immigrant, Emma Goldman, an anarchist married to a doctor who treated diseases related to poverty. She was arrested for giving a speech in which she advocated access to birth control. Her speech violated the Comstock Law, which prevented the distribution of "lascivious" literature. She had waited in this same room only days prior. Goldman's arrest was lauded by newspapers across the country. Political writers urged that America weed out new immigrants, like Goldman, who were unhappy with the status quo.
Since the war with Germany erupted, a new ideological movement swept across the land, finding favor with members of high society and Congress. Books were published warning against the "mongrelization" of America, particularly through immigration of people from Eastern Europe, like Katka and Paul. The books claimed the immigrants possessed a higher percentage of socially deviant qualities.
New York's mayor read these articles. He listened to his wealthy benefactors. He ordered his police force to infiltrate union halls and arrest everyone inside. They also entered taverns in the warehouse districts and textile neighborhoods, and arrested everyone who looked Slavic or Jewish, shipping them off to Ellis Island. Each day, a new group would be shuffled into this room, where an inspector would create a file before escorting them to their prison cells.
Paul took a seat in the back. "How long you been here?" Paul asked the man to his left. He was about fifty years old, with a neck the size of an oak tree. The man had giant hands to match and a tanned face.