Last month I posted a diary about the 2,300 men, women and children of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly deported from 13 Latin American countries to the U.S. and placed in an internment camp in Texas during World War II.
In an effort to bring this little known fact in to the light of day and rectify this injustice committed by our government, I introduced H.R. 662, the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act of 2007 on January 24 of this year. On Monday, a Day of Remembrance marking the 65th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 - the document that made it possible to intern thousands of innocent American citizens and Japanese Latin Americans during World War II, the Washington Post published an editorial I coauthored with Rep. Dan Lungren (CA-3) advocating passage of our bill.
As we describe in the editorial, the Shibayama family is just one of 2,300 affected by this unjust practice:
Art Shibayama is an American who served in the Army during the Korean War. Like many veterans, Cpl. Shibayama was not born in the United States. He was born in Lima, Peru, to Japanese Peruvian parents. Until 1942, Shibayama, his two brothers and three sisters lived comfortably with their parents and grandparents, all of whom had thriving businesses. However, after America entered World War II, his family was forcibly removed from Peru, transported to the United States and held in a government-run internment camp in Crystal City, Tex.
Like many Japanese American families, Shibayama's family lost everything they owned. But the greater injustice occurred when his grandparents were sent to Japan in exchange for American prisoners of war. Their family never saw them again.
Click here to view my floor speech recognizing Monday, February 19 as a Day of Remembrance for Japanese Americans who were unjustly interned during World War II.
I urge you to check to see if your representative is a co-sponsor of H.R. 662, and let them know your opinion about this important piece of legislation.