[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 134 (Tuesday, October 24, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H10627-H10629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WARTIME VIOLATION OF ITALIAN AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES ACT
Mrs. BONO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the
Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 2442) to provide for the
preparation of a Government report detailing injustices suffered by
Italian Americans during World War II, and a formal acknowledgment of
such injustices by the President.
The Clerk read as follows:
Senate amendments:
Page 3, line 11, strike out ``Inspector'' and insert
``Attorney''.
Page 3, line 11, strike out ``of the Department of
Justice''
Page 5, line 7, strike out ``why some'' and insert
``whether''.
Page 5, line 9, strike out ``while'' and insert ``and if
so, why''.
Page 7, strike out line 1
Page 7, line 2, before ``The'' insert: (5)
Page 7, line 2, strike out ``shall'' and insert ``should''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
California (Mrs. Bono) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Bono).
General Leave
Mrs. BONO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Mrs. BONO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, on November 10, 1999, the House passed H.R. 2442 by
voice vote. The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman of the
Committee on the Judiciary, stated then that few people know that
during World War II approximately 600,000 Italian Americans in the
United States were deprived of their civil liberties by government
measures that branded them ``enemy aliens.'' In fact, on December 7,
1941, hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the FBI took
into custody hundreds of Italian-American resident aliens previously
classified as dangerous and shipped them to camps where they were
imprisoned until Italy surrendered in 1943.
As so-called enemy aliens, Italian-American resident aliens were
required to carry special identification booklets at all times, and
they were forced to turn into the government such items as shortwave
radios, cameras, and flashlights. Those suspected of retaining these
items had their homes raided by FBI agents.
In California, about 52,000 Italian-American resident aliens were
subjected to a curfew that confined them to their homes between 8 p.m.
and 6 a.m. and a travel restriction that prohibited them from traveling
further than 5 miles from their homes. These measures made it
difficult, if not impossible, for some Italian Americans to travel to
their jobs, and thousands were arrested for violations of these and
other restrictions.
Then, on February 24, 1942, 10,000 Italian-American resident aliens
living in California were ordered by the Federal Government to evacuate
coastal and military zones. Most of those had to abandon their homes,
some of whom were taken away in wheelchairs and on stretchers. Later in
the fall of 1942, about 25 Italian-American citizens were ordered to
evacuate these areas.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2442, the ``Wartime Violation of Italian American
Civil Liberties Act,'' requires the Department of Justice to conduct a
comprehensive review of the Federal Government's treatment of Italian
Americans during World War II and to submit to the Congress a report
that documents the findings of that review.
In addition, H.R. 2442 encourages Federal agencies, including the
Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities,
to support, among other things, conferences, seminars, and lectures to
heighten awareness of the injustices committed against Italian
Americans.
The Senate amendments are mostly technical in nature. The bill, as
amended by the Senate, would leave it to the Attorney General as
opposed to the Inspector General of the Justice Department to conduct a
comprehensive review of the government's treatment of Italian Americans
during World War II. The House version of the bill directs the
President to acknowledge that these events occurred, whereas the Senate
version provides that it is the sense of Congress that the President
should fully acknowledge them.
Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 2442 as amended by the Senate and urge
members to vote in favor of H.R. 2442.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this important bipartisan
measure that acknowledges the indignities and discriminations suffered
by Italian Americans during World War II. I thank the gentlewoman from
California for her leadership, particularly on this very special day.
Of course, I will always remember the vital role that America's
greatest generation played in defeating the threats to democracy and
freedom abroad during World War II. At the same time, we must never
forget that in its zeal to defeat foreign tyrants, the United States
Government did a great disservice to democracy by violating the civil
rights and civil liberties of hundreds of thousands of Italian-born
immigrants here at home.
Simply because of their nationality, Italian Americans were labeled
``enemy aliens.'' More than 600,000 of these citizens were forced to
carry identification cards, had their personal property seized, and
their freedom of travel restricted. Tens of thousands of other Italian
Americans were forced from their homes, placed under curfews, and
prohibited from entering coastal areas of our country, and many others
were arrested and even interned in military camps.
Unfortunately, most Americans today are not even aware of this tragic
chapter in our history. This is why the legislation is so important,
because it will allow a full airing of the story of the treatment of
Italian Americans during World War II to be told. In telling the story,
the legislation would require the Attorney General to conduct a
comprehensive review of the government's treatment of Italian Americans
that would identify by name those Italian Americans who were innocent
victims of discrimination. They are the grandparents, the parents, and
cousins of millions of Italian Americans in America today.
We must learn from our history, even when that history shows our
national government failed to uphold values underpinning our democracy,
so that we
[[Page H10628]]
do not subject future generations of Americans to senseless and
unlawful deprivations of their civil liberties in the name of national
security.
However, this legislation has another important purpose. It also
provides an opportunity for the United States Government, through the
President, to officially acknowledge that discrimination against
Italian Americans during World War II represented a fundamental
injustice toward Italian Americans. Such an acknowledgment will follow
other historic and important acts of official contrition, such as
President Clinton's official apology for this Nation's role in the
African slave trade and our treatment of Japanese Americans during
World War II.
Part of fulfilling the promise of our democracy requires owning up to
our past. By passing this bill, we tell Italian Americans and, by
extension, all Americans, that equality under the law includes honesty
about our history.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
important legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. BONO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert).
(Mr. BOEHLERT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Wartime Violation
of Italian American Civil Liberties Act.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support for H.R. 2442, the Wartime
Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act. This bill is one
that is very important to me, my constituents, and Italian-Americans
across the nation. I want to thank my good friend, Rick Lazio, for
introducing this bill, along with Congressman Engel.
Much has been written about the internment of 100,000 Japanese-
Americans during World War II, but the injustices suffered by Italian-
Americans are less well known. During World War II, approximately
600,000 Italian-born immigrants in the United States were branded
``enemy aliens'' by the federal government. While thousands of Italian-
Americans were fighting for our country in Europe and the Pacific,
Italian-Americans who were deemed ``enemy aliens'' were losing their
homes, jobs and businesses. Entire Italian-American communities on the
West Coast were evacuated. Yet fifty years later, theirs is a largely
untold story.
H.R. 2442 will require the Department of Justice to conduct an
extensive study on the treatment of Italian-Americans in the United
States during World War II, and encourage educational projects to
heighten public awareness, and it calls on the President to formally
acknowledge this shameful episode in our nation's history.
Such an acknowledgment is long overdue. It is high time that our
nation recognize the enormous contributions of Italian-Americans and
the discrimination and loss of basic rights that many of them faced.
Doing so will not only help make amends to the specific individuals
who suffered, but it will strengthen the fabric of American society
which is damaged whenever one segment of the American people is cut off
and subjected to discrimination.
I urge my colleagues to support Mr. Lazio's bill.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank the Chairman of the
Judiciary Committee, Mr. Hyde, and the Ranking Member, Mr. Conyers, for
their efforts in bringing HR 2442 to the floor again today. With the
recent passage of the Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil
Liberties Act in the Senate, I look forward to sending this bill to the
President. I have worked on this legislation with may colleague from
New York, Mr. Lazio, and I am proud to be here today to express my
support for its passage.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and the United
States entered World War II. What has been overlooked since that day is
the fact that many Italian Americans suddenly became ``enemy aliens''.
Loyal Italian American patriots who had fought alongside the United
States Armed Forces in World War I, mothers and fathers of U.S. troops,
even women and children were suspected of being dangerous and
subversive. With this new enemy alien status, Italians were subjected
to strict curfew regulations, forced to carry photo ID's and could not
travel further than a 5 mile radius from their homes without prior
approval. Furthermore, many Italian fishermen were forbidden from using
their boats in prohibited zones. Since fishing was the only means of
income for many families, households were torn apart or completely
relocated as alternative sources of income were sought.
It is difficult to believe that over 10,000 Italians deemed enemy
aliens were forcibly evacuated from their homes and over 52,000 were
subject to strict curfew regulations. Ironically, over 500,000 Italians
were serving in the United States Armed Forces fighting to protect the
liberties of all Americans, while many of their family members had
their basic freedoms revoked.
Whe we first started working on this legislation we had vague
accounts of mostly anonymous Italians who were subjected to these civil
liberties abuses. However, throughout this process we have come in
contact with many Italians who experienced the internment ordeal first
hand. Dominic DiMaggio testified at a Judiciary Committee hearing about
his dismay when he returned from the war to find that his mother and
father were enemy aliens. Doris Pinza, wife of international opera star
Ezio Pinza, also testified at the hearing about her husband who was
only weeks away from obtaining U.S. citizenship when he was classified
as an enemy alien and detained at Ellis Island. It still saddens me to
think that Ellis Island, the world renowned symbol of freedom and
democracy, was used as a holding cell for Italians. There is even
documented evidence of Italians being interned in camps at Missoula,
Montana.
Mr. Speaker, we must ensure that these terrible events will never be
perpetrated again. We must safeguard the individual rights of all
Americans from arbitrary persecution or no American will ever be
secure. The least our government can do is try to right these terrible
wrongs by acknowledging that these events did occur. While we cannot
erase the mistakes of the past, we must try to learn from them in order
to ensure that we never subject anyone to the same injustices.
The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act calls
for the Department of Justice to publish a report detailing the unjust
policies of the government during this time period. Essential to the
report will be a study examining ways to safeguard individual rights
during national emergencies.
Mr. Speaker, we owe it to the Italian American community, especially
those who endured these abuses, to recognize the injustices of the
past. Documentation and education about the suffering of all groups of
Americans who face persecution is important in order to ensure that no
group's civil liberties are ever violated again. I am pleased to
support this legislation and urge its swift passage.
Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Congressman Rick Lazio
for bringing this bill to our national attention. I was shocked when I
first heard of these abuses against one of the most loyal segments of
our society. This secret story, this secret history of wartime
restrictions on Italian Americans living in the United States has been
hidden from the American history books. I first learned of this
situation when Anthony La Piana, a constituent from my district, came
to visit me last year and told me of the events after the bombing of
Pearl Harbor and how the FBI took hundreds of Italian American resident
aliens and sent them to camps for the duration of the war. I wondered
how many people have never heard of these terrible abuses. This bill
does not put the question of reparations or looking for money or
anything like that before us. It is simply a matter of the truth has
been obscured and it ought not be obscured. The truth has to be told.
During the war, Italian American resident aliens were forced to carry
special photo-identification booklets at all times, and required to
turn over to the government any shortwave radios, cameras or
flashlights. During this time in California, approximately 52,000
Italian American resident aliens were subject to curfews and travel
restrictions that made it difficult, if not impossible to travel to
their jobs. In February 1942, thousands were ordered evacuated by the
government from coastal and military zones.
One of the witnesses before the House Judiciary Committee, Professor
Lawrence DiStasi, Executive Director, Order Sons of Italy in America,
initiated the process of educating the country about this unspoken
chapter of American history. He was instrumental in the early 1990's by
working with the American Italian Historical Association's Western
Regional Chapter to create a touring exhibit titled, ``Una Storia
Segreta,'' (the words in Italian mean both ``a secret story'' and ``a
secret history''). This touring educational exhibit, which also has an
Internet web site, displays collected photographs, artifacts, letters
written by victims, family belongings, posters, memorabilia, and
papers. These items provide tangible documentation of the treatment of
Italian Americans who endured the confusion, indignity, and losses of
World War II, for the most part, in silence. I urge you to support H.R.
2442, as amended by the Senate, and urge Members to vote in favor of
this bill.
Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, as an original cosponsor of the bill, I am
pleased to rise as an original cosponsor of the Wartime Violation of
Italian American Civil Liberties Act.
[[Page H10629]]
H.R. 2442 will officially acknowledge the denial of human rights and
freedoms of Italian Americans during World War II by the United States
government. While many Americans know the sad history of our nation's
treatment of Japanese-Americans following Pearl Harbor and our entry
into World War II, remarkably few Americans know that shortly after
that attack, the attention and concern of the U.S. government was
similarly focused on Italian-Americans. More than 600,000 Italian
Americans were determined to be enemy aliens by their own government.
More than 10,000 were forcibly evicted from their homes, 52,000 were
subject to strict curfew regulations, and hundreds were shipped to
internment camps. Constitutional guarantees of due process were
unrecognized.
Although they had family members whose basic rights had been revoked,
more than a half million Italian Americans served this nation with
honor and valor to defeat fascism during World War II. Thousands made
the ultimate sacrifice.
The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act directs
the Department of Justice to prepare a comprehensive report detailing
the unjust policies against Italian Americans during this period of
American history. It is vital to the foundations of our democratic
governance that the people be fully informed of these devastating
actions. This legislation recognizes the thousands of innocent victims,
and honors those who suffered. In a country that so cherishes its
equality, we must recognize and atone for the mistakes of our past.
Mrs. BONO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Bono) that the House suspend the
rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill, H.R. 2442.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendments were
concurred in.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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