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

Floor Speech

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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.

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 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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