Tom Lantos: “I rise to join my dear friend and fellow Californian Congressman Mike Honda in support of H. Res. 56, commemorating the…”

“I rise to join my dear friend and fellow Californian Congressman Mike Honda in support of H. Res. 56, commemorating the suffering of the Japanese-American, German-American, and Italian-American communities during World War II by recognizing February 19 as a National Day of Remembrance. It is my sincere hope and belief that by establishing a National Day of Remembrance, Congress will increase public awareness of the wholesale exclusion and internment of individuals and entire families in this country during World War II. Following the issuance of Presidential Executive Order No. 9066 on February 19, 1942, tens of thousands of Americans were evicted from their homes, rounded up, and sent to internment camps across the western United States. In San Francisco, this program began in earnest on April 1, 1942, when all persons of Japanese ancestry--whether they were American citizens or not--were notified to report for 'relocation.' In my own district, 7,800 people were assembled against their will in the San Bruno Tanforan Racetrack. Seven-thousand eight hundred human beings were confined there for months, living in horse stables. Today, we realize that such a policy was outrageous. But Mr. Speaker, I submit that it is not only in retrospect that the internment of the Japanese appears absurd and unacceptable.”