Not all of the stories at Ellis Island’s immigration museum are about someone’s great-grandfather arriving as a boy from Europe at the start of the 20th century. 

With the unveiling of a new exhibition next month, Ellis Island is telling stories of immigrants who have come as recently as the start of this century, decades after the last arrival was processed through its doors. Combined with a section that opened in 2011 looking at immigration to America pre-Ellis Island, the museum is taking on a broader mission of showcasing the country’s entire migration history, not just the time it was open from 1892 to 1954. 

“It makes the museum continue to be important, relevant,” said Stephen Briganti, president and CEO of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. “Why stop in 1954? There’s a whole new group of people. What about their stories?”