[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 24, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1001-S1003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 373--RECOGNIZING THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF
EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066 AND EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT
POLICIES THAT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANY INDIVIDUAL BASED ON THE ACTUAL
OR PERCEIVED RACE, ETHNICITY, NATIONAL ORIGIN, OR RELIGION OF THAT
INDIVIDUAL WOULD BE A REPETITION OF THE MISTAKES OF EXECUTIVE ORDER
9066 AND CONTRARY TO THE VALUES OF THE UNITED STATES
Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Leahy, Ms.
Baldwin, Mr. Brown, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr.
Franken, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Peters, Mr.
Schatz, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Wyden) submitted
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary:
S. Res. 373
Whereas on December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy
launched a surprise attack against the United States naval
base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which led to--
(1) increased prejudice and suspicion toward Japanese
Americans; and
(2) calls from civilians and public officials to remove
Japanese Americans from the west coast of the United States;
Whereas on February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 (7 Fed. Reg. 1407;
relating to authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe
military areas) (referred to in this preamble as ``Executive
Order 9066''), which led to--
(1) the exclusion of 120,000 Japanese Americans and legal
resident aliens from the west coast of the United States; and
(2) the incarceration of United States citizens and lawful
permanent residents of Japanese ancestry in incarceration
camps during World War II;
Whereas President Gerald Ford formally rescinded Executive
Order 9066 in Presidential Proclamation 4417, dated February
19, 1976 (41 Fed. Reg. 7741) (referred to in this preamble as
``Presidential Proclamation 4417'');
Whereas Presidential Proclamation 4417--
(1) states that Japanese Americans were and are loyal
people of the United States who have contributed to the well-
being and security of the United States;
(2) states that the issuance of Executive Order 9066 was a
grave mistake in United States history; and
(3) resolves that actions such as the actions authorized by
Executive Order 9066 shall never happen again;
Whereas in 1980, Congress established the Commission on
Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to investigate
the circumstances surrounding the issuance of Executive Order
9066;
Whereas in 1983, the Commission on Wartime Relocation and
Internment of Civilians issued a report entitled ``Personal
Justice Denied'' in which the Commission on Wartime
Relocation and Internment of Civilians concluded that--
(1) the promulgation of Executive Order 9066 was not
justified by military necessity; and
(2) the decision to issue Executive Order 9066 was shaped
by ``race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political
leadership'';
Whereas on August 10, 1988, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988
(Public Law 100-383; 102 Stat. 903) was enacted--
(1) to apologize for ``fundamental violations of the basic
civil liberties and constitutional rights of these
individuals of Japanese ancestry''; and
(2) to establish the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund,
to ensure that ``the events surrounding the exclusion, forced
removal, and incarceration of civilians and permanent
resident aliens of Japanese ancestry will be remembered, and
so that the causes and circumstances of this and similar
events may be illuminated and understood'';
Whereas the terrorist attacks carried out in the United
States on September 11, 2001, have led to heightened levels
of suspicion and hate crimes, xenophobia, and bigotry
directed toward the Arab, Middle Eastern, South Asian,
Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu American communities, including--
(1) on August 5, 2012, an attack on the Sikh Temple of
Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, which led to several
injuries and the death of 6 Sikh Americans; and
(2) on February 10, 2015, the execution-style shooting of 3
Muslim American students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina;
Whereas the terrorist attacks carried out in Paris, France,
on November 5, 2015, have led to renewed calls from public
officials and figures to register Muslim Americans and bar
millions from entering the United States based solely on the
religion of those individuals, repeating the mistakes of
1942: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes the historical significance of February 19,
1942, as the date on which President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 (7 Fed. Reg. 1407;
relating to authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe
military areas) (referred to in this resolving clause as
``Executive Order 9066''), which restricted the freedom of
Japanese Americans;
(2) recognizes the historical significance of February 19,
1976, as the date on which President Gerald Ford issued
Presidential Proclamation 4417 (41 Fed. Reg. 7741), which
formally terminated Executive Order 9066;
(3) supports the goals of the Japanese American community
in recognizing a National Day of Remembrance to increase
public awareness about the unjust measures taken to restrict
the freedom of Japanese Americans during World War II;
(4) expresses the sense that the National Day of
Remembrance is an opportunity--
(A) to reflect on the importance of upholding justice and
civil liberties for all people of the United States; and
(B) to oppose hate, xenophobia, and bigotry;
(5) recognizes the positive contributions that people of
the United States of every race, ethnicity, religion, and
national origin have made to the United States;
(6) steadfastly confirms the dedication of the Senate to
the rights and dignity of all people of the United States;
and
(7) expresses the sense that policies that discriminate
against any individual based on the actual or perceived race,
ethnicity, national origin, or religion of that individual
would be--
(A) a repetition of the mistakes of Executive Order 9066;
and
(B) contrary to the values of the United States.
Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, 74 years ago, President Roosevelt signed
Executive Order 9066. That order led to the mass internment of nearly
120,000 Japanese Americans. Executive Order 9066 is an example of what
can happen when a government acts out of fear.
[[Page S1002]]
Today I am submitting a resolution that recognizes this dark chapter
and calls for the Senate and all Americans to uphold the lessons
learned from the issuance of Executive Order 9066.
In the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Americans of
Japanese ancestry living in the United States became a target of
paranoia, suspicion, and fear. Without any evidence of subterfuge, the
government classified Japanese Americans as ``enemy aliens'' based
purely on race and removed Japanese families from the west coast in the
name of national security. These were families like yours and mine--
farmers, students, shop owners, Buddhist priests, and teachers, parents
and grandparents working toward the American dream of giving their
children a better future. The majority were American citizens. These
families were forced to abandon or sell for a pittance homes and
businesses they had spent decades building. Many destroyed family
treasures that could link them to Japan.
Thousands of college students had their educations cut short when
they were forced to leave school for the internment camps.
One University of Washington student who was forced to leave school,
Gordon Hirabayashi, would go on to challenge the legality of the
internment all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Gordon's parents had
emigrated from Japan and settled in Washington State, where they were
farmers.
Upon the signing of Executive Order 9066 and subsequent orders, the
Hirabayashi family and tens of thousands of other Japanese American
families were forced to pack up only what they could carry for a long
train ride to unknown destinations. Upon arriving at barren and
isolated internment camps, including Honouliuli Internment Camp in
Waipahu, Oahu, these families passed through barbed-wire fences and
armed guards. They settled in cramped, hastily constructed shanties
that let in the elements. There was little privacy. And until these
internment camps were built, many families were forced to live in horse
stalls. The shame and humiliation were extreme. Nearly 120,000 men,
women, and children did the best they could under harsh circumstances,
persevering through what at the time seemed unbearable.
Despite this treatment at the hands of their own government, the time
came when many joined the war effort. From behind barbed wire, these
young Japanese American men fought for their country and in the
process, in doing so, proved their loyalty to the United States.
The Army agreed to form the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team,
the 100th Battalion, and the Military Intelligence Service. Thousands
of men in Hawaii and across the internment camps, including our late
colleague Senator Daniel K. Inouye, volunteered to take on the most
dangerous missions in Europe. Today, the 442nd and the 100th Battalion
remain the most decorated units in the Army's history. These units, as
well as the Military Intelligence Service, were awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal in 2011.
After the war ended, for all of the sacrifice Japanese Americans were
forced to make, for all they had to give up, each internee was then
given $25 and a train ticket to their prewar residences. Many of them
never returned to their homes because there was nothing to return to.
It was not until 34 years later, due to the work of the Japanese
American Citizens League and other individuals and groups, that
President Gerald Ford issued Proclamation 1447, which formally
terminated the authority of Executive Order 9066. The Ford proclamation
read, in part, ``I call upon the American people to affirm with me this
American Promise . . . to treasure liberty and justice for each
individual American, and resolve that this kind of action shall never
again be repeated.''
While the internment is now recognized as one of the darkest periods
in our Nation's history, we must not forget that Executive Order 9066
had widespread support at the time. The fight for formal recognition of
these injustices has been a long and challenging road that continues to
this day.
I wish to recognize the efforts of three Japanese Americans--Gordon
Hirabayashi, Minoru Yasui, and Fred Korematsu--who were convicted and
imprisoned while bravely challenging the constitutionality of
internment during the war. They were right, but it took decades of work
to achieve justice for these individuals who took their cases all the
way to the Supreme Court.
In the majority opinion of Korematsu v. U.S. in 1944, the Supreme
Court found that the internment was justified during a time of war--a
ruling that further underscores what can only be characterized as the
rampant fear and racism at the time.
I had the privilege of meeting Fred Korematsu and his family several
times before his passing in 2005. After the war, he, Gordon, and Minoru
continued to fight for others' civil rights their whole lives. Fred's
work is carried on by his daughter, Karen Korematsu, through the
Korematsu Institute. These three individuals were years later awarded
the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in Minoru Yasui's case, only
last year.
It was not until the 1980s--almost 40 years after internment ended--
that a new generation of attorneys and scholars took up their fight.
They uncovered evidence that the government hid information that proved
that Japanese Americans were not a threat to the United States. Gordon,
Minoru, and Fred appealed their earlier convictions, and the Ninth
Circuit Court vacated all of their convictions in the 1980s.
Gordon said after the Ninth Circuit overturned his earlier
conviction:
There was a time when I felt that the Constitution failed
me. But with the reversal in the courts and in public
statements from the government, I feel that our country has
proven that the Constitution is worth upholding. The U.S.
Government admitted it made a mistake. A country that can do
that is a strong country. I have more faith and allegiance to
the Constitution than I ever had before.
Today, I call upon all of my colleagues to uphold Gordon's faith in
our Constitution.
Undoubtedly, the U.S. Government must keep people safe. However, as
we learned with the internment, a government gripped by fear and
hysteria can make terrible mistakes. Not one American of Japanese
ancestry who was interned has ever been found guilty of sabotage or
espionage.
Focusing on the most vulnerable of targets--usually a minority
group--does not make our Nation safe or more secure. Actions like the
internment betray our values and undermine our strength as a people.
We are often reminded to learn from history. That presumes we are
aware of the relevant history. The story of internment remains one
still unfamiliar to many Americans--for instance, Mayor David Bowers of
Roanoke, VA, who used the internment as justification to suspend
assistance to Syrian refugees. He later apologized. More recently,
George Takei's play ``Allegiance,'' which just ended its Broadway run,
depicted the shock, humiliation, anger, and resolve of one family--the
Kimuras--who were interned in Heart Mountain, WY. Their internment was
like that of thousands of other Japanese Americans, and, like too many
others, the internment didn't end for the Kimuras when World War II
ended. Their family relations were irreparably damaged.
Yet, despite efforts to educate a new generation of Americans through
efforts like ``Allegiance,'' today we hear echoes of the sentiments of
1942 directed toward members of the South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu,
Arab, and Middle Eastern communities. There are reports of children
from these communities beaten up in schools, families being threatened
in their homes, and houses of worship vandalized and set on fire. We
hear calls from public figures and officials to racially profile and
conduct surveillance on Muslim Americans, as well as to bar their entry
into our country.
While the security of the American people is a top priority, divisive
proposals to ban all Muslims, for example, from entering the United
States do nothing to make us safer; rather, they take us back to a time
when our policies were guided by fear, stereotypes, and mistrust.
Now is not the time to turn on one another. Now is the time to stand
together against the hate and fear that divides our country.
In affirming our commitment to liberty and justice for all, let us
remember that the United States is a diverse
[[Page S1003]]
country in which individuals of all backgrounds have and continue to
make positive contributions to the well-being and security of our
Nation. It is important to speak out against hateful rhetoric and
divisive policy proposals that prey on people's fears and instead
promote our American values that are rooted in compassion, respect for
others, justice, and equality.
I am joined today in the Gallery by advocates from the Asian American
and Pacific Islander and Muslim communities. Mahalo to all of you for
the work you do every day to advance equality, liberty, and justice for
all. These values are the strength of America.
Let's stand together in solidarity, that in this new century, we will
not give in to old fears, old prejudices, and unjustified actions.
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