[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 208 (Thursday, December 2, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1303-E1304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMMEMORATING THE TUNA CANYON DETENTION STATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 2, 2021

  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Tuna Canyon 
Detention Station Coalition as it commemorates the 80th anniversary of 
the opening of the detention station located in Tujunga, California. I 
commend the organization's tireless efforts to preserve and document 
the historical site and the stories of the lives that were forever 
changed while they were detailed at the Tuna Canyon Detention Station 
(TCDS) during World War II.
  At the onset of World War II, Presidential Proclamations 2525, 2526, 
and 2527 authorized the arrest and imprisonment of people deemed a 
threat to U.S. national security. The proclamations served as 
justification to arrest individuals of Japanese, German, and Italian 
ancestry along with extradited Japanese Peruvians and detain them 
without due process.
  The U.S. Department of Justice subsequently appropriated a Civilian 
Conservation Corps camp a week after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on 
December 7, 1941 which they would then transform into the detention 
station that we know today as TCDS. From December 16, 1941 to October 
30, 1943, the Tuna Canyon Detention Station imprisoned over

[[Page E1304]]

2,000 individuals. These individuals included prominent businessmen, 
martial arts teachers, civic and religious leaders.
  Today, the TCDS Coalition serves to educate the public about the 
site's historical significance, preserve the site and historic 
artifacts, and seek out the names and stories of detainees. I applaud 
the diligence of the TCDS Board of Directors and volunteers who have 
worked tirelessly to document biographies of TCDS detainees. 
Additionally, TCDS Coalition was the driving force behind the Los 
Angeles City Council recognizing the Tuna Canyon Detention Station as a 
Historic Cultural Monument on June 25, 2013.
  With only the oak trees left standing, it's vital for present and 
future generations to be informed of these wartime atrocities to ensure 
that the same actions never take place again. It is my pleasure to 
congratulate the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition on all they 
have accomplished, and I ask all members to join me in commending their 
efforts.

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