JOINT STATEMENT OF ALIEN ENEMIES ACT SURVIVORS AND DESCENDANTS
View Our Statement opposing President Trump’s invocation and use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, an outdated and discriminatory wartime law that devastated our families during WWII. Co-written by Campaign for Justice, Crystal City Pilgrimage Committee, German American Internee Coalition, Italian American Historical Association, Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project, and Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition.
IN THE NEWS
How an 18th-century law enabled internment — and may do so again by Claire Wang, The Guardian, July 31, 2025.
Inside the US plan to detain immigrants in Latin America as bargaining chips in WWII by JoAnn DeLuna and Nellie Gilles, NPR Radio Diaries, June 30, 2025.
‘Very dangerous’: Japanese Americans warn of Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act by David Nakamura, The Washington Post, March 19, 2025.
“Our Fathers Were Interned by the Alien Enemies Act. This Law Should be Repealed, Not Revived” by Karen Ebel and Grace Shimizu, Time, March 17, 2025.
2026 DAY OF REMEMBRANCE (DOR) EVENTS
Please join CFJ/Japanese Latin Americans at the following DOR events:
University of Maryland – February 9, 2026 @ 5:00pm ET
San Francisco – February 15, 2026 @ 2:00pm PT
San Jose – February 15, 2026 @ 5:30pm PT More info
Los Angeles – February 21, 2026 @ 2:00pm PT More info
DID YOU KNOW? During WWII, the U.S. government went outside its borders and violated the rights of over 2,200 men, women and children of Japanese ancestry in 13 Latin American countries in the name of “national security.” These “potentially dangerous enemy aliens” were imprisoned in concentration camps in the U.S. for use as hostages in exchange for U.S. citizens held in Far East war zones. Over 80 years later, the U.S. government has yet to acknowledge and properly redress these crimes against humanity.
CAMPAIGN FOR JUSTICE 