[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2323]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE COMMISSION ON WARTIME RELOCATION AND INTERNMENT OF 
                LATIN AMERICANS OF JAPANESE DESCENT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. XAVIER BECERRA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 24, 2007

  Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Commission 
on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese 
Descent Act. 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 65th anniversary of the day that then President 
D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that led to the internment of 
120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry. With the stroke of a pen, 
innocent men, women, and children became prisoners and were branded 
disloyal to the nation they called home. Lives were disrupted and homes 
were broken as these Americans were uprooted from their communities and 
locked behind barbed wire fences. Over the past years, the anniversary 
of this date has been nationally observed with educational events to 
increase public awareness about the World War II experience, recognize 
the unjust action, and to provide an opportunity for all people to 
reflect on the importance of justice and civil liberties during times 
of crisis and war.
  The 1981 Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians 
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 a single documented case of sabotage or 
espionage was committed by a Japanese American during that time. The 
Civil Liberties Act was the culmination of a half century of struggle 
to bring justice to those for whom it was denied. I am proud that our 
nation did the right thing. But 19 years after the passage of this act, 
there still remains unfinished work to completely rectify and close 
this regrettable chapter in our nation's history.
  Between December 1941 and February 1945, 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, 
where many were deported to a foreign country that they had never set 
foot on since their ancestors' immigration to Latin America. The 
remaining Japanese Latin Americans were imprisoned in internment camps 
without the benefit of due process rights until after the end of the 
war.
  Further study of the events surrounding the deportation and 
incarceration of Japanese Latin Americans is both merited and 
necessary. The 1981 Commission on 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 thoroughly researched the 
historical documents that exist in distant archives pertaining to 
Japanese Latin Americans.
  It is for all these reasons, Madam Speaker, that I rise today to 
introduce the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin 
Americans of Japanese Descent Act. We must review directives of the 
United States military forces and the State Department requiring the 
relocation, detention in internment camps, and 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, Mike Honda, and Chris 
Cannon for their commitment to this issue and joining me in this 
effort. The Campaign for Justice and the Japanese American Citizens 
League have been the vanguard organizations driving this effort.
  Madam 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 by passing the Commission on Wartime Relocation and 
Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act. Doing so will 
help us guard it more closely in the future and help us commit 
ourselves to justice.

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