The Ellis Island Medals of Honor have been presented since 1986 and is one of our nation’s most prestigious awards. Each year its recipients are read into the Congressional Record. The Medal celebrates inspiring Americans who are selflessly working for the betterment of our country and its citizens.
Since the medal was founded, we have honored distinguished and diverse Americans including Presidents Ronald Reagan and Joe Biden, as well as six other Presidents of the United States. Past Medalists include former Apple CEO John Sculley, Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt, Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Nobel Prize laureates Elie Wiesel and Malala Yousufzai, Sen. John McCain, Muhammad Ali, and Lee Iacocca, just to name a few.
A complete list of Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients can be found in our Medalist Archives.
2026 Nomination Criteria
Nominations for the Ellis island Medals of Honor and the Beacon Awards are now
CLOSED
Nominations for 2026 will reopen on January 30, 2025
Please follow our social media to stay informed of our plans.
INTEGRITY The nominee should be a person of integrity who has done, or been the impetus for, an honorable act that exemplifies their character and reputation
PASSION Discuss how passion has led the nominee to focus their lives on a social cause, an ideological concept, a humanitarian philosophy, etc.
GRAVITAS Consider if the nominee received any academic, professional and humanitarian accolades. Please mention any objective peer-reviewed awards or citations, innovations, inventions or humanitarian recognition’s
HUMANITARIAN Detail the nominee’s commitment and efforts on behalf of humanitarian causes. Humanitarian efforts should be considered beyond financial contributions. Please describe how their personal time and passion have helped move their cause forward
ETHNIC HERITAGE Describe how the individual honors their ethnic heritage, how they promote it and/or what have they contributed to
+ For naturalized Americans, consider how they have integrated themselves into our national identity
+ For native-born Americans, please consider the individual’s contributions to their self-identified ethnic homeland, as well as their professional and personal achievements
Please note that the Medal is not awarded posthumously