The Statue of Liberty is a US National Monument which stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.  An 1885 gift from the nation of France, it symbolizes not only international friendship but freedom and democracy. 

An immigration processing station on neighboring Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892 and operated until 1954.  Ellis Island processed over 12 million immigrant steamship passengers, and today, over 40 percent of America's population can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island.

The final lines of Emma Lazarus' famous poem, "The New Colossus," promise welcome and hope to immigrants, giving voice to the statue which for many signaled their arrival to the United States.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus, 1883