Proclamation 3656—Adding Ellis Island to the Statue of Liberty National Monument

Whereas Ellis Island in 1890 was placed under the control of the Federal Bureau of Immigration for development as an immigration station; and

Whereas between the years 1892 and 1954 Ellis Island was host to more than 16 million aliens entering this country; and

Whereas Ellis Island was a temporary shelter for those who sought refuge, freedom, and opportunity in our country; and

Whereas the millions of people who passed through the Ellis Island Depot were important to America for their contribution in making the United States of America the world leader it is today; and

Whereas the Statue of Liberty is a symbol to the world of the dreams and aspirations which have drawn so many millions of immigrants to America; and

Whereas to all Americans the Statue of Liberty stands eternal as the symbol of the freedom which has been made a living reality in the United States for men of all races, creeds, and national origins who have united in allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and to the imperishable ideals of our free society ; and

Whereas, by Proclamation No. 1713 of October 15, 1924 (43 Stat. 1968), the Statue of Liberty and the land on which it is situated were established as a national monument in accordance with section 2 of the Act of Congress approved June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225; 16 U.S.C. 431); and

Whereas Ellis Island, consisting of approximately 27.5 acres, with improvements thereon, and of submerged lands in the rectangle surrounding the island, including the above acreage, aggregating 48 acres, is owned and controlled by the United States; and

Whereas the public interest would be promoted by reserving this area for proper protection and preservation as the Statue of Liberty National Monument:

Now, Therefore, I, Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States of America, under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Act of Congress approved June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225; 16 U.S.C. 431), do proclaim that the property known as Ellis Island, as described in the preamble of this Proclamation, which is owned and controlled by the United States is hereby added to and made a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, subject to the limitation contained in the last sentence of this paragraph, and shall be administered pursuant to the Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C., secs. 1-3), and acts supplementary thereto and amendatory thereof. Henceforth the Statue of Liberty National Monument shall consist of the Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, and Ellis Island. Unless provided otherwise by Act of Congress, no funds appropriated to the Department of the Interior for the Administration of the National Monument shall be expended upon the development of Ellis Island.

Warning is hereby expressly given to all unauthorized persons not to appropriate, injure, destroy, or remove any feature of the National Monument.

So much of Proclamation No. 1713 of October 15, 1924, as relates to Fort Wood, New York, and the Statue of Liberty and the land on which it is situated, is hereby superseded.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this eleventh day of May in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-ninth.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

By the President:

DEAN RUSK,

Secretary of State.