An Injustice of Legalized Internment of Japanese Americans and Japanese Issei During World War II
One of the most shocking decisions in the history of American injustices is the official, legalized internment of Japanese Americans and Japanese Issei during World War II. While Americans fought a war abroad for democracy, against the racist tyrant Adolph Hitler of Germany, back home Japanese Americans and legal Japanese resident aliens were deprived of their liberty and property, simply because of their racial and ethnic heritage. The official reasons given for the internment were military necessity and the protection of the Japanese Americans. The first statement of 'military necessity,' or national security, as a justification for internment, implied that Japanese American and Japanese Issei was more 'suspect' than other Americans. It was assumed these Asian Americans had divided loyalties because of their racial, ethnic, and national heritageaE"despite the fact that other Americans with ancestors from the Axis nations, such as German and Italian Americans were not similarly interned without cause. The second justification, of protection of the persons of Japanese Americans, was also dubious, given that German and Italian Americans of identifiable heritage were not incarcerated, and the internments of the Japanese America
Moreover, racism still continues in America, and in the state of California today. To make only one example, in 1994 California, Proposition 187 attempted to deny undocumented immigrants denied social services. The initiative statute was ironically nicknamed the "Save Our State" initiative and sought to deny public social, educational and health services to aliens who were in California illegally. Proposition 187 banned illegal immigrants from public social services, non-emergency health care and public education. Various state and local agencies would be required to report anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant to the state attorney general and U.S. Immigration and The War Brides Act of 1946, which admitted the alien wives and children of U.S. servicemen on a non-quota basis was thought to be something of a reparation of the racism that had been perpetuated against Asian Americans during the war. But the racism inflicted upon Japanese Americans was not a momentary historical 'blip' on America's legal radar. As noted by historian Robert Takaki (1998), Chinese immigrants to the U.S. was early 19th century were transformed into outsiders by racism and economic exploitation and ultimately prohibited from immigrating in numbers comparable to Caucasian, European immigrants. Even after showing notable service to the United States during the Second World War, other Asian immigrant groups such Filipinos experienced discrimination and soci
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Approximate Word count = 978
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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