[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 144 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 144

Recognizing the importance of establishing a national ``Fred Korematsu 
             Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 2017

Mr. Takano (for himself, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Al Green of Texas, 
  Mr. Gutierrez, Ms. Hanabusa, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Lee, Mr. Ted Lieu of 
California, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. Meng, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. 
    Peters, Ms. Speier, and Ms. Velazquez) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the importance of establishing a national ``Fred Korematsu 
             Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution''.

Whereas Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu was born on January 30, 1919, in Oakland, 
        California, to Japanese immigrant parents;
Whereas Fred Korematsu attempted to enlist in the United States National Guard 
        and the United States Coast Guard after the United States entered World 
        War II and was rejected because of his Japanese ancestry;
Whereas after the signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, by 
        President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which authorized the forced 
        imprisonment of 120,000 people of Japanese descent into prison camps, 
        the majority of whom were American citizens, Fred Korematsu resisted 
        that infringement of American civil liberties and attempted to continue 
        his life as an American citizen until he was arrested, convicted, and 
        incarcerated at a concentration camp in Topaz, Utah;
Whereas, in 1944, Fred Korematsu appealed his case to the United States Supreme 
        Court, which ruled against him, declaring in Korematsu v. United States 
        that Japanese incarceration was a ``military necessity'' rather than an 
        egregious act of racial discrimination;
Whereas, in 1980, President Jimmy Carter created the Commission on Wartime 
        Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), which concluded in 1983 
        that the forced removal and imprisonment of people of Japanese ancestry 
        was motivated by ``race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of 
        political leadership'';
Whereas during this time, researchers at the University of California, San Diego 
        uncovered documents from the United States Department of Justice in 
        which intelligence agencies, including the FBI, the FCC, and the Office 
        of Naval Intelligence, denied that Japanese-Americans ever committed 
        wrongdoing, but which were never presented to the United States Supreme 
        Court during Korematsu v. United States;
Whereas following the conclusion of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and 
        Internment of Civilians and the findings on governmental misconduct, 
        Fred Korematsu reopened his case, and on November 10, 1983, the United 
        States District Court of Northern California in San Francisco overturned 
        his conviction;
Whereas Fred Korematsu's courageously fought injustice by challenging the 
        constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, and his lawsuit remains an 
        important lesson about the fragility of individual civil liberties 
        during a time when the Nation is experiencing threats to its national 
        security;
Whereas Fred Korematsu continued to fight injustice and defend the liberties of 
        Muslim people when, in 2003, he warned in an amicus brief that the 
        United States extreme national security measures following the terrorist 
        attacks of September 11, 2001, were reminiscent of the mistakes of the 
        past that undermined American civil liberties, including the Alien and 
        Sedition Acts of 1798, the suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil 
        War, the prosecution of dissenters during World War I, the Red Scare of 
        1919-1920, the interment of people of Japanese descent during World War 
        II, and the era of loyalty oaths and McCarthyism during the Cold War;
Whereas the United States is once again threatening American civil liberties in 
        violation of the Constitution as a disproportionate reaction to the 
        state of our national security;
Whereas the democratic character of the American people will be nourished and 
        enhanced by opportunities for civic education on the significant 
        challenges that have been posed to our Constitution;
Whereas a day of annual national reflection on how the Fred Korematsu quest for 
        justice is important to educating the American people about preserving 
        civil liberties and the principle of equality before the law; and
Whereas the States of California, Hawaii, Virginia, and Florida have already 
        designated January 30 as Fred Korematsu Day to commemorate his lifelong 
        fight for civil liberties and the Constitution: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the importance of establishing a national 
        ``Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution''; 
        and
            (2) encourages all people to reflect on the importance of 
        political leadership and vigilance and on the values of justice 
        and civil rights during times of uncertainty and emergency.
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