Galveston Movement Galveston Movement The Galveston Movement, also known as the Galveston Plan, was a U.S. immigration assistance program operated by several Jewish organizations between 1907 and 1914. The program worked to divert Jewish immigrants, fleeing Russia and eastern Europe, away from East Coast cities, particularly New York, which was already crowded with these poverty-stricken immigrants. During its operation, ten thousand Jewish immigrants passed through the port of Galveston, Texas, about a third the number that emigrated to Palestine during the same period. New York financier and philanthropist Jacob Schiff was the driving force behind the effort, which he supported with nearly
Free State of Galveston of the commission. Law enforcement at the county level, and to some degree at the state level, became notoriously tolerant of the illegal activities in Galveston, in no small part because of the prosperity they generated, and the bribery and influence peddled by the Maceos. The city police very early on became entirely complicit. Galveston County Sheriff Frank Biaggne served from 1933 to 1957 and was known for largely disregarding the mainstream illegal activities on the island. When a state committee investigating illegal activities on the island asked the sherriff about his reluctance to raid the Balinese Room, he replied