Respuesta :
The correct answer is "after leaving the sickness, / the old Empires of Europe".
With this quotation, the voice of the poem states that the days spent in Ellis Island were like a quarantine getting rid of the evil deeds of the old Empires of Europe. This process is necessary to get rid of the sickness, the Imperialist ideas of these nations that had expanded their cultures through colonialism, conquering other countries and subjugating their peoples.