Ted Poe: “I support House Resolution 129, which recognizes the historical significance of the Merced Assembly Center to the memory…”

“I support House Resolution 129, which recognizes the historical significance of the Merced Assembly Center to the memory of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed his Executive Order 9066, which authorized the internment of Japanese Americans. President Roosevelt took this action even though, as chief historian for the Army Stetson Conn said, 'The only responsible commander in the military who backed the War Department's mass evacuation plan was the President himself, the Commander in Chief.' Even Attorney General Frances Biddle and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover advised against this policy. In 1942, President Roosevelt authorized the Army to evacuate more than 100,000 Japanese Americans from the Pacific coast States including Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona. Interestingly, many Japanese Americans loyally served in the United States military during World War II while their families were interned. This overbroad and unnecessary approach to maintaining America's security serves as a continuing reminder that the civil rights of American citizens should never be lost even in the mist of the chaos of war.”