[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 13, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E337-E338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 
   9066 AND SUPPORTING AND RECOGNIZING A NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 12, 2007

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, February 19, we will mark the 
65th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President 
Franklin D. Roosevelt. This resolution authorized the internment of 
over one hundred thousand American citizens and legal resident aliens 
of Japanese, German, and Italian ancestry. At the hands of our 
government, Japanese, German, and Italian citizens suffered grievous 
violations of their civil liberties. These war-time measures were far-
reaching, uprooting entire communities and targeting citizens as well 
as resident aliens.
  Although the greatest numbers of those impacted by Executive Order 
9066 were Japanese-Americans, little is known about the impact of the 
measure on Italian and German-

[[Page E338]]

Americans. Like Japanese-Americans, Italian and German-Americans were 
branded ``enemy aliens'' and were required to carry identification 
cards, saddled with travel restrictions, had their personal property 
seized, and placed in internment. For example, 3,200 resident aliens of 
Italian background were arrested and more than 300 of them were 
interned. About 11,000 German residents--including some naturalized 
citizens--were arrested and more than 5,000 were interned.
  Executive Order 9066 was finally rescinded by Gerald Ford on April 
19, 1976 and in 1983, the Commission on Wartime Relocation and 
Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) concluded that the incarceration of 
Japanese-Americans had not been justified by military necessity. 
Rather, the report determined that the decision to incarcerate was 
based on ``race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political 
leadership.'' The Civil Liberties Act of 1988, based on the CWRIC 
recommendations, was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan and an 
appropriations bill authorizing reparations to be paid between 1990 and 
1998 was signed by George H.W. Bush in 1989. Finally, in 1990, 
surviving internees began to receive individual redress payments and a 
letter of apology. Through these acts, our government has attempted to 
make amends, yet the initial effects of Executive Order 9066 remain in 
the hearts and minds of many Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, as co-chair of the Congressional Italian-American 
Delegation, I fully support H. Res. 122, which would effectively 
recognize the significance of the 65th anniversary of Executive Order 
9066 and support the goals of the Japanese-American, German-American, 
and Italian-American communities in recognizing a National Day of 
Remembrance. This bill will go a long way in helping to increase public 
awareness of the events surrounding the restriction, exclusion, and 
internment of individuals and families during World War II, and I urge 
my colleagues to support it.

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