The much expressed notion that we Argentines descended from the boats, instead of having our own centuries-old history, has been used at times as a form of discredit when, on the contrary, it should be a source of pride. The words reveal a false contradiction since, although we are all of different origins, we have all identified with the history and utopia of our America.
Defending immigration is also a form of acknowledging the capacity of our land, and of ourselves, its sons and daughters, to integrate our various cultural heritages, enriching us in the process.
The Argentine Nation was formed on the basis of the agreement and the desire to integrate the different regions of which it is composed. From the time of its creation it called on all the men of the world, and as a result men and women came from the ends of the earth in search of the freedom, work and wellbeing they were being denied in their countries of origin.
Those of us who have worked towards creating the Immigration Museum are proud to be a part of this Nation, which is heterogeneous and rich in its many traditions. We respect the immigrants who settled here and found a homeland while, at the same time, defending the original peoples who are at the base of our nationality.
The Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero thanks the National Director of Migrations for the chance to recover and continue the work of this museum, which was founded in 1974, to provide a permanent place of memory and homage both to those from Europe, Asia, Africa who came to share this country in the early days, and also to our South American brothers who consolidated the permeability that is promoted by our legislation.
Our lives are a permanent journey. Those who decided to put down roots in these lands, thus making the Republic possible, will find in this Museum a place for the equitable respect that they deserve. We are open and we need the collaboration of all foreign communities.
I would like to thank Diana Wechsler and all the team of Untref/Muntref and of the National Directorate of Migrations for their work and goodwill that allowed the museum to become a reality.
Aníbal Jozami
Rector UNTREF / Director MUNTREF

The National Directorate of Migrations (DNM, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones) of the Argentine Republic is responsible for numerous activities related to the movement of people around our country. It is located on a site that boasts strong historical connections. It is the place where the former reception centre, the Immigrants Hotel, still stands together with the offices of control, registration and others that functioned around it.
The Immigration Museum was created in the 1970s, to a large extent with the encouragement of the foreign communities, which, in 1983 entrusted the DNM with the mission of recreating the historical circumstances of immigration in Argentina. Later, the Hotel and the Landing Stage were declared National Historic Monuments.
The site needed to be reconditioned, and what better than the work of specialist teams from the UNTREF, working together with DNM personnel, to take on the job that today allows us to visit these premises, which have born witness to so many immigrants and unique personal stories, and to walk in the footsteps of the migrants of yesterday and today.
Martín Arias Duval
National Director of Migrations