On the recordJanuary 30, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Fred Korematsu Day. I could hardly imagine a more relevant time to celebrate his fight for freedom and equality. When the United States incarcerated 115,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, including my parents and grandparents, Fred Korematsu resisted Executive Order 9066 and courageously stood up for the oppressed when few others would. History often forces us to ask ourselves: How would we have acted if we lived in that moment? Through the President's recent executive order, we no longer have to wonder. How you react to the Muslim ban today is how you would have reacted to the imprisonment of my grandparents and parents 75 years ago. If you are silent today, you would have been silent then. If you are complicit today, you would have been complicit then. This great institution is facing an enormous test of our commitment to liberty and justice for all. Let our children and grandchildren look back and see that we passed that test. ____________________
