[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1981 COMMISSION ON 
 WARTIME RELOCATION AND INTERNMENT OF CIVILIANS HEARINGS--INTRODUCTION 
    OF THE COMMISSION ON WARTIME RELOCATION AND INTERNMENT OF LATIN 
               AMERICANS OF JAPANESE DESCENT ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. XAVIER BECERRA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 8, 2006

  Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Commission on 
Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese 
Descent Act of 2006. This bill would create a commission to review and 
determine facts and circumstances surrounding the relocation, 
internment, and deportation of Japanese Latin Americans, and 
subsequently recommend appropriate remedies.
  This year marks the 25th anniversary of the 1981 Commission on 
Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians hearings. This 
commission concluded that the internment was the result of racism and 
wartime hysteria. Five years after publishing its findings, then 
President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that 
provided an official apology and financial redress to most of the 
Japanese Americans who were subjected to wrongdoing and confined in 
U.S. internment camps during World War II. Those loyal Americans were 
vindicated by the fact that not even a single documented case of 
sabotage or espionage was committed by a Japanese American during that 
time. This act was the culmination of a half century of struggle to 
bring justice to those to whom it was denied. I am proud that our 
nation did the right thing. But 18 years after the passage of the Civil 
Liberties Act, there still remains unfinished work to completely 
rectify and close this regrettable chapter in our nation's history.
  Between December 1941 and February 1948, approximately 2,300 men, 
women, and children of Japanese ancestry became the victims of mass 
abduction and forcible deportation from 13 Latin American countries to 
the United States. The U.S. government orchestrated and financed the 
deportation of Japanese Latin Americans to be used as hostages in 
exchange for Americans held by Japan. Over 800 individuals were 
included in two prisoner of war exchanges between the U.S. and Japan. 
The remaining Japanese Latin Americans were imprisoned in internment 
camps without the benefit of due process rights until after the end of 
the war. Japanese Latin Americans not only were subjected to gross 
violations of civil rights in the U.S. by being forced into internment 
camps much like their Japanese American counterparts, but additionally, 
they were victims of human rights abuses merely because of their ethnic 
origin.
  Further study of the events surrounding the deportation and 
incarceration of Japanese Latin Americans is both merited and 
necessary. While most Americans are aware of the internment of Japanese 
Americans, few know about our government's activities in other 
countries resulting from prejudice held against people of Japanese 
ancestry. Government files thoroughly recorded U.S. involvement in the 
expulsion and internment of an estimated 2,300 people of Japanese 
descent who lived in various Latin American countries. Uprooted from 
their homes and forcibly transported to the United States, these 
civilians were robbed of their freedom as they were kidnapped from 
nations not directly involved in World War II. The Commission of 
Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians acknowledged the federal 
actions in detaining and interning civilians of enemy or foreign 
nationality, particularly of Japanese ancestry, but the commission had 
not researched the historical documents that exist in distant archives.
  That is why I am introducing the Commission on Wartime Relocation and 
Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act of 2006. We must 
review directives of the United States military forces and the State 
Department requiring the relocation, detention in internment camps, and 
in some cases, deportation of Japanese Latin Americans to Axis 
countries and recommend appropriate remedies, based upon preliminary 
findings by the original commission and new discoveries. It is the 
right thing to do to affirm our commitment to democracy and the rule of 
law.
  I am proud that there are many Members of Congress and community 
activists who have come together in this continuous fight for justice. 
I especially thank Representatives Dan Lungren and Mike Honda for their 
commitment to this issue and joining me in this effort. The Campaign 
for Justice and Japanese American Citizens League have been the 
vanguard organizations driving this effort to ensure that injustice be 
rectified. Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of joining with citizens 
in Los Angeles at the Japanese American National Museum to commemorate 
the Day of Remembrance. First observed in 1978 in Seattle, the Day of 
Remembrance has become a significant tradition in the Japanese American 
community, rooted in recognition, education, and activism for redress 
and social justice. The Day of Remembrance is observed with educational 
events around the country on or around February 19 because on that day 
in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, a 
directive that allowed for the mass internment of persons of Japanese 
ancestry. As we remember and reflect on the tragedy that innocent 
people experienced during World War II, it is my hope that our 
government can do the same and right this egregious wrong. A necessary 
first step to achieving this altruistic goal is swift passage of the 
legislation being introduced today.
  Mr. Speaker, let us renew our resolve to build a better future for 
our community by dedicating ourselves to remembering how we compromised 
liberty in the past. Doing so will help us guard it more closely in the 
future. As we remember the 25th anniversary of the first commission 
hearings and commemorate the Day of Remembrance, I look forward to 
working with my colleagues to pass the Commission on Wartime Relocation 
and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act of 2006.

                          ____________________