Bill to adress WWII internment Japanese Latin Americans advances

For immediate release
September 14, 2009

Contact:
Christine Oh
213-500-9346
info@campaignforjusticejla.org

Japanese Latin American Commission bill scheduled for markup by full House Judiciary Committee

CFJ urges the public to contact Judiciary Committee members to support Commission bill

LOS ANGELES, CA – September 14, 2009 – Japanese Latin Americans (JLAs) who were interned by the United States government during World War II have waited more than sixty years for a full investigation of their experiences, but their wait may soon be over. A bill entitled the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act (HR. 42 and S. 69), introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, this past January, is now scheduled for discussion and editing, or “markup,” this Wednesday, September 16, by the House Judiciary Committee. Last July, a bipartisan majority of members of the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law voted favorably, seven to two, to report H.R. 42 to the full House Judiciary Committee.

“We are pleased and excited to see the bill moving forward,” said Christine Oh, Legislative Director of Campaign For Justice. “I urge the Judiciary Committee members to support its passage on to the House.”

The JLA Commission bill would establish a federal commission to investigate and determine the facts surrounding the wartime deportation, internment and relocation of Latin Americans of Japanese descent by the U.S. government and recommend any appropriate remedies.

While many Americans are aware of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, few know about our government’s activities in certain non-combatant countries against people of Japanese ancestry. Approximately 2,264 Japanese Latin Americans were uprooted from their homes, forcibly transported to the United States and imprisoned in internment camps. Over 800 of these men, women and children were used by the U.S. government in two hostage exchanges with Japan.

On March 19, 2009, the Immigration Subcommittee held a hearing focusing on the treatment of Latin Americans of Japanese and German descent, European Americans, and Jewish refugees during World War II, providing a platform for JLAs to lay a historical foundation for the need for a commission investigation into these wartime government violations. Witnesses who testified at the hearing included Libia Yamamoto (former Japanese Peruvian internee), Grace Shimizu (Director of Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project and daughter of a former Japanese Peruvian internee), and Daniel Masterson (Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland).

CFJ asks supporters to immediately contact their members of Congress who sit on the Judiciary Committee to express their support for the bill.

Arizona
Trent Franks (R-AZ-2)

California
Elton Gallegly (R-CA-24)
Brad Sherman (D-CA-27)
Adam Schiff (D-CA-29)
Maxine Waters (D-CA-35)
Linda Sanchez (D-CA-39)

Florida
Tom Rooney (R-FL-16)
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL-20)

Georgia
Hank Johnson (D-GA-4)

Illinois
Mike Quigley (D-IL-5)

Iowa
Steven King (R-IA-5)

Massachusetts
Bill Delahunt (D-MA-10)

Michigan
John Conyers Jr. (D-MI-14)

Mississippi
Gregg Harper (R-MS-3)

New York
Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-8)
Anthony Weiner (D-NY-9)
Dan Maffei (D-NY-25)

North Carolina
Tom Coble (R-NC-6)
Mel Watt (D-NC-12)

Ohio
Jim Jordan (R-OH-4)

Tennessee
Steve Cohen (D-TN-9)

Texas
Louie Gohmert (R-TX-1)
Ted Poe (R-TX-2)
Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX-20)
Lamar Smith (R-TX-21)

Utah
Jason Chaffetz (R-UT-3)

Virginia
Bobby Scott (D-VA-3)
Randy Forbes (R-VA-4)
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA-6)
Rick Boucher (D-VA-9)

Wisconsin
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI-2)
James Sensenbrenner (R-WI-5)

For more information, please contact Christine Oh, CFJ Legislative Director, at (213) 500-9346 or info@campaignforjusticejla.org. Visit the CFJ website at www.campaignforjusticejla.org.

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