Category Archives: Immigration

December 18, 1947: Jacobowicz Brothers, Orphaned in Holocaust, Arrive in L.A. (Also Turkey Stuffing With Fritos)

Posted on December 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 18, 1947: Orphaned in the Holocaust, the Jacobowicz brothers—Karl, 16, Joseph, 13, and Rudolph, 10—arrive in Los Angeles on the final leg of their journey from Vienna. Continue reading →

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December 8, 1907: Jewish Refugees, Fleeing Russian Persecution, Come to L.A.

Posted on December 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 8, 1907: Three members of the Schiffman family who are Jewish refugees from Baku, Russia: Sigmund, the father; Benjamin, 15; and Emella [or Emelia], 10. They have been brought to Los Angeles as part of the Galveston Plan, in which Jews were taken to Galveston, Texas, for dispersal throughout the West because New York was overcrowded. Continue reading →

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December 3, 1941: L.A. County Cuts Welfare Costs, Pays Immigrants to Go Back to Mexico — Updated

Posted on December 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 3, 1941: To reduce the welfare rolls, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approves paying $100 [$1,441.19 USD 2009] to immigrants to move back to Mexico. Continue reading →

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November 17, 1941: Women Reporters

Posted on November 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 17, 1941: Reporter Mary Shaw Leader is posthumously honored for covering Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Leader walked 15 miles to cover Lincoln’s speech. Continue reading →

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November 8, 1947: Tokyo Rose Seeks to Return to U.S.

Posted on November 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 8, 1947: Iva Toguri of Los Angeles seeks to return to the U.S. after being stranded in Japan during the war, when she was known as Tokyo Rose. Continue reading →

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November 5, 1907: Bride Travels From Scotland to Marry Fiance Seeking Better Life in L.A.

Posted on November 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 5, 1907: John Richie led the bass section of the choir at St. Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen, Scotland, while Testristina Adams was a contralto. They sang in the choir for about 10 years, and fell in love.
Two years ago, John left Scotland and came to Los Angeles, but not before asking Testristina to marry him. Continue reading →

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October 25, 1982: Millennial Moment: Iranian Exiles Find a Bit of Home in Santa Monica Park

Posted on October 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 25, 1982: Times staff writer Bill Overend profiles Iranian exiles who gather in Santa Monica’s Palisades Park on Sunday afternoons, hundreds of people — mostly Jews and some Muslims — who came to the U.S. because of the Iranian revolution. Continue reading →

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October 19, 1907: Toku, Abandoned by Man Who Claimed to Be Wealthy, Denied a Divorce

Posted on October 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 19, 1907: Visiting Japan, K. Tsuneda met a young woman named Toku. Claiming that he was a wealthy Stanford student, Tsuneda married Toku and they came to the U.S. so his new wife could get an American education. She learned that Tsuneda wasn’t rich or a Stanford student. Continue reading →

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September 21, 1907: 26 Men Deported to China

Posted on September 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 21, 1907: 26 men are deported to China, 11of them from Los Angeles. Most Chinese men in Los Angeles have the proper paperwork to be in the United States, an immigration official says. Continue reading →

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September 6, 1947: Mexican Workers Essential as Americans Refuse Stoop Labor, Ranchers Testify

Posted on September 6, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 6, 1947: Ranchers tell Congress that they cannot survive without importing Mexican workers. Americans won’t do “stoop labor,” the ranchers say. Continue reading →

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Aug. 4, 1907: Galveston Plan Brings Russian Jews to Southwestern U.S.

Posted on August 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 4, 1907: In July, 50 Russian Jews arrived in Galveston, Texas, aided by the Jewish Territorial Organization. The Galveston Plan brought about 10,000 Jews to America between 1907 and 1914. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Emma Lazarus’ ‘The New Colossus’ Calls to All Immigrants

Posted on July 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

Construction of the Statue of Liberty, artwork by John Durkin, Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 19, 1884. Note: This is an encore post from 2018. Written in 1883 to help raise money for building the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Emma Lazarus’ ‘The New Colossus’ Calls to All Immigrants

Posted on July 1, 2024 by lmharnisch

Construction of the Statue of Liberty, artwork by John Durkin, Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 19, 1884. Note: This is an encore post from 2018. Written in 1883 to help raise money for building the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Emma Lazarus’ ‘The New Colossus’ Calls to All Immigrants

Posted on July 5, 2021 by lmharnisch

Construction of the Statue of Liberty, artwork by John Durkin, Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 19, 1884. Note: This is an encore post from 2018. Written in 1883 to help raise money for building the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood’s Deep Roots of Anti-Japanese Bias

Posted on May 17, 2021 by lmharnisch

As many immigrant groups before them, Japanese began coming to America in the 1860s looking for opportunities to learn new skills and to make money to help support their families back home. When intolerant, isolationist Americans began turning against the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1924, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Immigration, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pearl Harbor Survivor Kills Himself

Posted on December 7, 2020 by lmharnisch

Can’t draw? You too can be a famous cartoonist. Note: This is an encore post from 2012. Jan. 10, 1942:  Pearl Harbor survivor William Parks kills himself in San Francisco after going AWOL. “His note to his wife indicated that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, Religion, Tom Treanor | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Emma Lazarus’ ‘The New Colossus’ Calls to All Immigrants

Posted on July 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

Construction of the Statue of Liberty, artwork by John Durkin, Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 19, 1884. Note: This is an encore post from 2018. Written in 1883 to help raise money for building the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 6, 2020 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1950 MGM picture “Black Hand,” with Gene Kelly, J. Carrol Naish, Teresa Celli, Marc Lawrence, Barry Kelley, Frank Puglia and Mario Siletti. Screenplay by Luther Davis from a story by Leo Townsend. Photography by … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, Mystery Photo, New York | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Emma Lazarus’ ‘The New Colossus’ Calls to All Immigrants

Posted on July 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

Construction of the Statue of Liberty, artwork by John Durkin, Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 19, 1884. Note: This is an encore post from 2018. Written in 1883 to help raise money for building the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty … Continue reading →

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Dec. 18, 1947: Jacobowicz Brothers, Orphaned in Holocaust, Arrive in L.A. (Also Turkey Stuffing With Fritos)

Posted on December 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The Jacobowicz brothers—Karl, 16, Joseph, 13, and Rudolph, 10—stood on the metal ramp leading from the gleaming airliner that carried them on the final leg of … Continue reading →

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