What is Day of Remembrance?
The annual Day of Remembrance (DOR) commemorates the more than 120,000 U.S. citizens and immigrant residents of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly removed from their homes and held behind barbed wire in concentration camps and detention facilities in the United States during World War II. It is observed on or near February 19th, the date in 1942 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which led to their ethnic cleansing, unjust mass exclusion and incarceration, and set in motion the tragic events that have not been fully redressed after eight decades.
Day of Remembrance has become a community institution in Japanese American communities nationwide, with its roots in collective remembrance, education and activism. DOR events also bring together diverse communities in order to build mutual understanding, respect, trust, and solidarity. Each year at this time, we reaffirm our commitment to uphold the fundamental constitutional and human rights of all people, especially the right to government redress and reparations of vulnerable or marginalized individuals or communities for violations whether perpetrated long ago, in the present, or in the future.
Japanese Latin Americans & Day of Remembrance
Japanese Latin Americans (JLAs) began raising the JLA experience at DOR events in the early 1990s. We helped to “break the silence” surrounding the internment in Department of Justice and US Army concentration camps and detention facilities. Over the decades, we continue to expand and make more inclusive the wartime and redress narrative.
JLAs are exposing the historical truth of the US government’s domestic and foreign policies and actions which led to massive constitutional and human rights violations across two continents. Within a day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 which led to the round up and imprisonment of over 31,000 Japanese, German, Italian, and Jewish immigrants living in the US and seized from 18 Latin American countries. Soon after, US citizens and other immigrant residents of Japanese ancestry were subjected to fundamental constitutional and human rights violations pursuant to Executive Order 9066.
By understanding the fuller, inclusive historical truth, we can learn the lessons needed to overcome the challenges we face today. In March 2025, President Trump unlawfully used the same dangerous and antiquated Alien Enemies Act to unlawfully seize, detain and deport 252 Venezuelan citizens residing in the US to a notorious prison in El Salvador. JLAs are warning of the devastating impacts that this law had on our families as we fight for constitutional and human rights of Venezuelans and other communities and the repeal of the Alien Enemies Act.
The traditional commemoration of DOR calls on the Japanese American community and the nation to remember, reflect, educate, and take action for social justice, particularly our right to government redress and reparations. JLAs continue to respond to that call, because we know what it means for families, communities and nations when the US government violates fundamental rights and human dignity with impunity. JLAs have not yet found justice in the US, despite the favorable decision by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that the US government owes reparations to the JLAs. The JLA struggle for justice and government accountability continues.
To learn more, please go to the Next Steps page.
Get Involved
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- Join the Community Delegation to Washington, DC (est. Oct. 2026)
- Support the ACLU case WMM v. Trump when it reaches the Supreme Court (est. October 2026)
- Lobby Congress to repeal the Alien Enemies Act and increase sponsors for the Neighbors Not Enemies Act
- Educate the public about the Alien Enemies Act during WWII and today
- Bring the Enemy Alien Files: Hidden Stories of WWII exhibit to your community.
- Volunteer with CFJ or JPOHP.
- Preserve JLA oral histories
- Share your fundraising, grant writing, social media, website, technical, writing, or translation (Spanish, Japanese) skills
your translation (Spanish, Japanese), website, social media, technical, and writing skills - Contact us to attend our Volunteer Orientation Session
- Spread the word about the ongoing JLA reparations struggle.
- Make a financial donation to support our work.
- Stay in touch by following the CFJ website, Facebook page, and Instagram.
CFJ at DOR 2026 Events
University of Maryland Day of Remembrance
Mon., Feb. 9, 5:00pm EST - Join the Community Delegation to Washington, DC (est. Oct. 2026)
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Grace Shimizu and Brand Nakashima from CFJ will present JLA history and make connections to current events.
Contact pnash@umd.edu for details
“Neighbors Not Enemies – Stronger Together – Carrying the Light for Justice”
Sun., Feb. 15, 2:00-4:00pm
JCCCNC
1840 Sutter St., San Francisco JapantownPanelists CFJ/JPOHP Director Grace Shimizu, Tsuru for Solidarity Board Member Dr. Satsuki Ina and City Attorney of San Francisco David Chiu.
CFJ-JPOHP info table at reception
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“Neighbors Not Enemies”
Sun., Feb. 15, 5:30-7:30pm PT
San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin Annex
632 N. Fifth St., San Jose JapantownFeatured speaker Richard Konda, Asian Law Alliance Executive Director; Remembrance speaker Yoshiko Kanazawa; performance by ukelele artist Jake Shimada; candle light ceremony and procession
CFJ-JPOHP info table at event
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“The Power of Action: Silence Today, Injustice Tomorrow”
Sat., Feb. 21, 2:00pm
Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple
815 East First Street, Little Tokyo
Japanese Peruvian camp survivor Mamoru Ohashi – Crystal City Internment Camp banner bearer
CAMPAIGN FOR JUSTICE 