[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE 68TH ANNIVERSARY OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066

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                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 24, 2010

  Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize February 19, 
2010 as a day of remembrance, on the occasion of the sixty-eighth 
anniversary of Executive Order 9066.
  February 19th will forever be a reminder of the injustice and racial 
prejudice of World War II internment. This day marks the anniversary of 
a momentary erosion of America's core principles--a time when over 
120,000 Americans were denied their civil rights and imprisoned against 
their will. At the same time, this anniversary represents our nation's 
incredible ability to reaffirm our commitment to protecting the 
freedoms of all Americans.
  Following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, our government succumbed 
to apprehension and hysteria by targeting many of its own citizens who 
had nothing to do with the attacks. Executive Order 9066, which was 
neither justified nor necessary, was issued as a way to assuage growing 
fears that Japanese-American citizens constituted a threat to national 
security. This unfortunate decision was shaped by panic and prejudice, 
and demonstrated that courageous political leadership in this most 
trying of times was lacking. By commemorating and remembering the 
failure of our government to uphold the Constitutional rights 
guaranteed to every American, future generations will hopefully avoid 
repeating these past mistakes.
  Over 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were sent to internment 
camps and wrongly imprisoned. And though our country's participation in 
World War II may have ended in triumph, the mistreatment of Japanese, 
Italian, and German Americans cannot be excused.
  In the decades following Executive Order 9066, we have taken several 
substantial steps to study, remedy, and learn from the negative legacy 
of the internment while preserving the heritage of those affected. The 
directive was officially repealed in 1976, and a commission was formed 
to study the impact of relocation on Japanese Americans. In 2008, we 
celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act, which 
was a major step forward in righting the wrongs perpetrated during this 
difficult period in our nation's history. It is for these reasons that 
I rise today to call on all Americans to reaffirm our commitment to 
inalienable, constitutionally-provided rights. This dark period in our 
history must always be remembered critically, while also appreciated, 
as a symbol of our ability to acknowledge and rectify mistakes. As I 
look back to this time in our nation's history and see how far we have 
come in the intervening years, I see great hope for our future.

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