[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 92 (Thursday, June 26, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S6504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. D'AMATO (for himself, Mr. Chafee and Mr. Torricelli):
  S. 969. A bill ordering the preparation of a Government report 
detailing injustices suffered by Italian Americans during World War II, 
and a formal acknowledgement of such injustices by the President; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.


     The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act

  Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, thousands of Italian-Americans became 
innocent victims of wartime fever--a panicked and a paranoid reaction 
that all people of foreign extraction linked to belligerent countries 
were spies, sabatours and un-American. Fear of fifth columnists and 
quisling-type activities led government officials to abridge the civil 
rights of Americans who came from warring countries. Patriotic 
propaganda villifying the treachery of sneak attacks, blitzkrieg and 
totalitarian domination had an effect on the homefront view of Italian, 
German and Japanese immigrants as well as naturalized citizens, 
inducing discrimination. Initial mistakes were magnified by protective 
zeal into wholesale judgements about aliens, which led to the 
detainment, internment and harassment of these people.
  That is why, Mr. President, I rise today to join with my colleagues 
Senator Chafee and Torricelli to right a terrible wrong that happened 
in this country over 50 years ago. In a country that so cherishes its 
equality among men and women, and boasts its democratic process, the 
United States has a dark spot in its history. Most Americans are not 
aware of the tragedy experienced by so many fellow citizens over half a 
century ago, a tragedy committed by the American government against 
people of Italian descent.
  In early 1942, 600,000 aliens of Italian descent were deemed to be 
``enemy aliens'' and were forced to re-register and carry 
identification. Our government restricted their travel to their 
neighborhoods and classified normal household items, such as shortwave 
radios, cameras, flashlights and weapons as contraband material in 
their possession.
  On February 19, 1942, an Executive Order was issued giving the 
Secretary of War the authority to exclude American citizens as well as 
alien enemies, from such areas as the Secretary should designate. 
Americans now realize that this provision began a dark period of 
American history, authorizing the internment of immigrants residing in 
the United States as well as American citizens. While most Americans 
are aware of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, 
few are aware that Italians and German legal residents of the United 
States were also restricted.
  Italian immigrants, Italian-Americans and their families were viewed 
as a genuine threat to American security at the beginning of World War 
II. Fear and ethnic bias led to the relocation of nearly 10,000 members 
of the Italian community from their homes on the West Coast. Hundreds 
of people were taken from their homes and brought to guarded army camp 
in areas as far east as Minnesota.
  And all this effort and anxiety for naught- even by war's end, not a 
single act of sabotage was attributable to Italian-Americans. On the 
contrary, Italians fought in America's victorious forces in the 
European and Asian theater and thousands made the ultimate sacrifice 
for our nation's survival.
  As one could imagine, the effects on these families were disastrous. 
Four men committed suicide. These men (Martini Battistessa, Guiseppe 
Micheli, Giovanni Sanguenetti and Stefano Terranova) suffered at the 
hands of government officials. Italian American fisherman were 
grounded, their livelihood gone.
  Several experts have taken a look at the treatment of Italian 
Americans during the early 1940's. Stephen Fox wrote a book called The 
Unknown Internment: An Oral History of the Relocation of Italian 
Americans during World War II. In the preface, Stephen Fox describes 
the horrific treatment of people whose only crime was being of Italian 
descent in America during World War II.
  Salvatore J. LaGumina, Professor of History and Director of the 
Center for Italian American Studies at Nassau Community College wrote 
an article in the Italian American Review called ``Enemy Alien: Italian 
Americans During World War II''. In the article he states:

       ``A ban on Italian language radio programs affected 
     stations in New York City and Boston. Various Italian 
     American newspapers suspended publication at least during 
     the war years and in some instances ceased publication 
     permanently. Customary Italian religious feast 
     celebrations were likewise deferred or significantly 
     diminished . . . In Westbury, Long Island, most Italian 
     American organizations suspended their traditional feast 
     celebrations for the duration of the war except for the 
     Dell'Assunta Society which insisted it be allowed to march 
     on the village streets during its festival, on the grounds 
     that it was a religious not an ethnic celebration.

  Robert Masulla, writing for the Italic Way Newsletter, cited that 
Italian immigrant fishermen were denied their livelihood and some 
``even had their boats impounded by the U.S. government and utilized 
for patrol and minesweeping duties''.
  It was not until October 12, 1942 that Italian immigrants were 
removed from the enemy alien category. Mr. Fox's historical study 
indicated that the internment effort was abandoned because the alien 
relocation would overly tax the U.S. Army's already over-extended 
logistical network, threaten the defense industry and lower civilian 
morale.
  In 1988, this body finally faced a terrible past that we could no 
longer ignore--the internment of immigrants from Japan or Japanese-
Americans. Now it is time to provide recognition and remorsefulness for 
the treatment of Italian aliens and Italian Americans who had to endure 
the horrific actions of our own government--a government that has stood 
for freedom, not oppression.
  That is why I have joined with my colleagues in the House of 
Representatives, particularly its lead sponsors, Congressmen Engel and 
Lazio, to introduce this bill, the ``Wartime Violation of Italian 
American Civil Liberties Act''. Its provisions are clear and straight-
forward:
  It recognizes the treatment of Italian Americans during World War II.
  It calls on the President to formally acknowledge that the civil 
liberties of Italian Americans were violated in the United States in 
the early 1940's.
  It encourages federal agencies to support projects which increase the 
public's awareness of the internment of Italians during the Second 
World War.
  It states that the President and Congress provide direct funding in 
order to educate the American public through a film documentary, 
particularly to document the testimony of the survivors of the 
internment.
  It recommends the formation of an advisory committee to assist in the 
compilation of historical data, to accurately reflect the incidents 
that transpired.
  It calls on the Department of Justice to publish a report on the U.S. 
Government's role in the internment.
  The facts need to be told in order to acknowledge that these events 
happened, to remember those who lived through the humiliation and to 
discourage any similar injustices from occurring in the future.
                                 ______