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The Observatory · Case 08 · Rights · 1942 to 1988
Japanese American Incarceration (1942 to 1988)
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Sources checked 2026-10-13. Preliminary research, not a final verdict.
1. Review status
- Status
- Not yet reviewed by a person. This page was researched and written with the help of AI tools. Every key claim is labeled by evidence status near the end, but no person has checked the sources yet. Treat it as a draft.
- Verified by
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- Sources checked
- 2026-10-13
- Review history
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- Packet built
- 2026-10-28
2. The article
In 1942 the federal government removed about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast, most of them U.S. citizens, and held them in camps without individual review. The Supreme Court upheld the curfew and exclusion orders. Redress (vacated convictions, an apology, and $20,000 per survivor) came only in the 1980s, after the community had gained citizenship, votes, and members of Congress.
In brief
In February 1942, Executive Order 9066 opened the way for the removal of about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast, most of them U.S. citizens. They were held in remote camps, including Amache in southeastern Colorado, without individual hearings. The Supreme Court upheld the curfew and exclusion orders in the Hirabayashi, Yasui, and Korematsu cases. The immigrant parents could not vote at all: federal law barred Japanese immigrants from citizenship until 1952. A federal commission later described the community as "small in number and with no political voice." In 1982 that commission found the removal "was not justified by military necessity" and was caused by "race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership." Courts then vacated the old convictions after finding the government had hidden evidence. In 1988, after Japanese American legislators had pressed the issue in Congress, the nation apologized and paid $20,000 to each living survivor. The link to voting is indirect, but the case shows how a group without political voice had little protection and waited decades for redress.
The record
Background: who could become a citizen and vote
- November 13, 1922: In Ozawa v. United States, 260 U.S. 178, the Supreme Court held that naturalization was limited to "free white persons" under Revised Statutes section 2169, read "white person" to mean "a person of what is popularly known as the Caucasian race," and found Takao Ozawa "clearly of a race which is not Caucasian," so he could not naturalize. (Ozawa v. United States, Justia)
- Result for the immigrant generation (Issei): the 1982 federal commission report states, "Japanese immigrants were barred from American citizenship, although their children born here were citizens by birth." It describes the group as "small in number and with no political voice," and notes "the citizen generation was just reaching voting age in 1940." (CWRIC, Personal Justice Denied, Summary, National Archives)
Removal and incarceration (1942 to 1946)
- February 19, 1942: President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe military areas "from which any or all persons may be excluded." The order named no ethnic group. (National Archives, Milestone Documents; National Archives, Prologue blog)
- March 21, 1942: Congress passed a statute making violation of the military orders a crime; the Supreme Court later held that this Act ratified EO 9066 and authorized the curfew. (Hirabayashi v. United States, Justia)
- March and April 1942: Gen. John L. DeWitt issued exclusion orders aimed at "all persons of Japanese ancestry" in the Western Defense Command. (National Archives, Prologue blog)
- Numbers (see disputed-numbers table below): The National Archives says "approximately 122,000 men, women, and children were forcibly moved" and "Nearly 70,000 of the evacuees were American citizens," held at "10 sites ... in remote areas in six western states and Arkansas." (National Archives, Milestone Documents) The National Park Service says "Approximately 110,000 people, two-thirds of them American citizens" were removed initially, and "over 120,000 people of Japanese descent had been incarcerated, without trial" by war's end. (NPS, Japanese American Incarceration)
- Colorado, Amache (Granada Relocation Center): Construction began in late June 1942; first residents arrived in August 1942; "Amache housed 7,318 Japanese Americans at its peak in 1943"; "10,331 people passed through Amache"; the last resident left October 15, 1945. (NPS, Amache History and Culture) Another NPS page says over 10,000 passed through, "most of them American citizens," with a 1943 peak of 7,310, making it "the tenth largest population center in Colorado at the time." (NPS, Learn About the Park)
- Colorado, Gov. Ralph Carr (1942): Per the Densho Encyclopedia, Carr praised U.S.-born Japanese Americans as "sincere, earnest, and loyal people," said privately in February 1942 "I'm not going to put any United States citizens in jail," called incoming West Coast Japanese "unwelcome guests" in a February 28 radio address, and told an April 1942 governors' meeting "If Colorado's part in the war is to take 100,000 of them, then Colorado will take care of them." He reportedly disliked the Amache camp's construction but did not publicly protest it. He lost a narrow 1942 U.S. Senate race. (Densho Encyclopedia, Ralph Carr) Colorado State Archives describes 1942 letters showing his opposition to denying Japanese Americans' civil rights, but the page does not quote him. (Colorado State Archives, Carr Collection)
The Supreme Court cases (1943 to 1944)
- June 21, 1943: Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U.S. 81, upheld Gordon Hirabayashi's curfew conviction, with no dissent, and did not decide the exclusion count. Chief Justice Stone wrote: "Distinctions between citizens solely because of their ancestry are, by their very, nature odious to a free people" (comma as printed), yet held the curfew within the war power. (Justia)
- June 21, 1943: Yasui v. United States, 320 U.S. 115, sustained Minoru Yasui's curfew conviction. Yasui, "an American-born person of Japanese ancestry" born in Oregon in 1916, had asked to be arrested to test the curfew. The trial court had ruled he lost his citizenship; the Government did not defend that, and the case was remanded for resentencing. (Justia)
- December 18, 1944: Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214, upheld Fred Korematsu's conviction for violating Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34, 6 to 3. Justice Black wrote that "all legal restrictions which curtail the civil rights of a single racial group are immediately suspect" and courts "must subject them to the most rigid scrutiny," but upheld the order. Justice Murphy: "I dissent, therefore, from this legalization of racism." Justice Jackson: "The principle then lies about like a loaded weapon, ready for the hand of any authority that can bring forward a plausible claim of an urgent need." (Justia)
- December 18, 1944: Ex parte Endo, 323 U.S. 283, ordered Mitsuye Endo's release, holding the War Relocation Authority "has no authority to subject citizens who are concededly loyal to its leave procedure." It decided on statutory grounds and did not reach the constitutional question. (Justia)
- The Civil Liberties Act later defined the period of "evacuation, relocation, and internment" as December 7, 1941, to June 30, 1946. (Pub. L. 100-383, govinfo)
Political voice and redress (1952 to 2018)
- June 27, 1952: Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act (McCarran-Walter) over President Truman's June 25 veto. Truman supported ending racial bars ("I have long urged that racial or national barriers to naturalization be abolished") but objected to other provisions. (Truman Library, veto message and note) The Act "eliminated laws preventing Asians from becoming naturalized American citizens." (Office of the Historian, State Department) Densho reports "more than 40,000 first-generation Japanese became U.S. citizens" between 1952 and 1965. (Densho Encyclopedia, Immigration Act of 1952)
- February 19, 1976: President Ford's Proclamation 4417 stated that EO 9066's authority had terminated with Proclamation 2714 (ending hostilities, December 31, 1946) and acknowledged that the removal resulted "in the uprooting of loyal Americans." (American Presidency Project)
- 1979 to 1980: Sen. Daniel Inouye, with Spark Matsunaga, Norman Mineta, and Robert Matsui, had called for a commission to study the incarceration; legislation creating the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) became law in 1980. (Densho Encyclopedia, Civil Liberties Act of 1988)
- 1981: Peter Irons and CWRIC researcher Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga found National Archives documents showing officials had suppressed, altered, and destroyed evidence, and that DeWitt's Final Report was revised before it reached the Supreme Court. (Densho Encyclopedia, Coram nobis cases)
- December 1982: CWRIC's report Personal Justice Denied concluded: "The promulgation of Executive Order 9066 was not justified by military necessity," and that "the broad historical causes" were "race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership." It found the policy was "executed against 120,000 people without individual review," despite "not a single documented act of espionage, sabotage or fifth column activity" by Japanese Americans or resident Japanese aliens on the West Coast. (CWRIC Summary, National Archives)
- June 1983: CWRIC Part 2 recommended an apology ("recognizes that a grave injustice was done and offers the apologies of the nation"), presidential pardons, and a "one-time per capita" payment of $20,000 to each surviving person excluded or detained, from a $1.5 billion fund. (CWRIC Part 2, National Archives)
- November 10, 1983: Judge Marilyn Hall Patel vacated Korematsu's conviction from the bench (Densho, Coram nobis cases); her written opinion followed April 19, 1984 (584 F. Supp. 1406), finding "critical contradictory evidence known to the government and knowingly concealed from the courts," and that the case "stands as a constant caution that in times of war or declared military necessity" institutions must protect constitutional rights. (Korematsu v. United States, 584 F. Supp. 1406, LSU Law mirror)
- January 26, 1984: Judge Robert Belloni vacated Yasui's conviction without addressing misconduct claims; Yasui called it "a hollow personal victory." He died November 12, 1986, and his appeal ended; the Supreme Court declined review in 1987. (Densho, Coram nobis cases)
- February 10, 1986 and September 24, 1987: A district court vacated Hirabayashi's exclusion conviction but not his curfew conviction; the Ninth Circuit reversed in part and ordered both vacated, finding "[t]he district court erred in distinguishing between the validity of the curfew and exclusion convictions." The court noted "The War Department tried to destroy all copies of the original report when the revised version was prepared" and that "the original report did not purport to rest on any military exigency." (Hirabayashi v. United States, 828 F.2d 591, law.resource.org; Densho)
- August 10, 1988: President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (H.R. 442, Pub. L. 100-383). It acknowledged "the fundamental injustice of the evacuation," found the actions motivated largely by "racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership," stated "the Congress apologizes on behalf of the Nation," and directed payment of "$20,000" to "each eligible individual," defined as a person of Japanese ancestry "living on the date of the enactment of this Act." (Pub. L. 100-383, govinfo) At signing Reagan said: "Here we admit a wrong. Here we affirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law." (National Archives, Prologue blog) Densho reports Reagan initially opposed the bill. (Densho)
- February 5, 1999: The Justice Department's redress office closed after paying "82,219 eligible claimants" a total of "more than $1.6 billion" (the release's lead says "more than 82,250 persons"). (DOJ press release, Feb. 19, 1999)
- June 26, 2018: In Trump v. Hawaii, Chief Justice Roberts wrote that "Korematsu was gravely wrong the day it was decided, has been overruled in the court of history," and, quoting Justice Jackson's 1944 dissent, that it "has no place in law under the Constitution." (Justia)
Disputed numbers: how many people, how many citizens
| Figure |
Who says it |
Source checked |
| "approximately 122,000"; "Nearly 70,000" citizens |
National Archives |
Milestone Documents |
| "Approximately 110,000 people, two-thirds of them American citizens" (initial removal); "over 120,000" total |
National Park Service |
NPS |
| "120,000 people without individual review" |
CWRIC, 1982 |
Summary |
| 82,219 (or "more than 82,250") paid |
DOJ, 1999 (survivors living in 1988 only) |
DOJ |
Safest statement: about 120,000 people, roughly 110,000 in the initial removal, and well over half (NPS: two-thirds) U.S. citizens. The citizen share depends on which count is used (70,000 of 122,000 is about 57 percent).
What this case shows
- The immigrant generation was legally locked out of the vote. Ozawa (1922) confirmed that Japanese immigrants could not naturalize, so they could never vote, however long they lived here. The federal commission itself linked this to the group's "no political voice." The bar lasted until 1952. (Ozawa; CWRIC Summary; Office of the Historian)
- Citizenship alone did not protect the citizens. Most of those removed were U.S. citizens, yet the government acted against "120,000 people without individual review," and the Supreme Court upheld the curfew and exclusion. Endo freed a "concededly loyal" citizen only on statutory grounds, late in 1944. (NPS; Korematsu; Endo)
- Legal redress was blocked by government misconduct for four decades. Courts later found the government "knowingly concealed" contrary evidence and that the War Department tried to destroy the original DeWitt report. The convictions stood until 1983 to 1987, after private researchers found the documents. (584 F. Supp. 1406; 828 F.2d 591; Densho)
- The official verdict names a "failure of political leadership." Both the 1982 commission and the 1988 statute named political failure, alongside race prejudice and war hysteria, as a cause. That is the federal government's own finding that the political system did not protect this group. (CWRIC Summary; Pub. L. 100-383)
- Redress followed political voice. Legislative redress came after the 1952 end of the naturalization bar and after Japanese American members of Congress (Inouye, Matsunaga, Mineta, Matsui) pushed for the commission, with community groups (JACL, NCRR) in the coalition. (Densho, Civil Liberties Act; Truman Library)
The strongest objections, and our answers
- Objection: This is about wartime security and race, not voting. Mitigation: Agreed that the tie is indirect. No source shows the removal happened because Japanese Americans could not vote. The supported claim is narrower: lack of citizenship for the Issei and the small, young voting population left the group with "no political voice" (CWRIC's words), and redress came after that changed.
- Objection: The headcount and citizen share vary. Mitigation: True. Figures run from about 110,000 (initial removal) to 122,000 (total), and the citizen share from about 57 percent (Archives' numbers) to two-thirds (NPS). We report the range and rest no argument on a precise figure.
- Objection: The wartime government faced a real threat after Pearl Harbor. Mitigation: The fear was real, but the 1982 commission found EO 9066 "was not justified by military necessity" and found "not a single documented act of espionage, sabotage or fifth column activity" by Japanese Americans or resident Japanese aliens on the West Coast. Courts later found the government withheld contrary evidence from the Supreme Court.
- Objection: "Redress followed political voice" is a correlation, not proof of cause. Mitigation: Fair. Other factors mattered: archival discoveries, the coram nobis suits, changing public opinion, and allies outside the community (Densho credits New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean's lobbying of Reagan). We say political voice was one necessary ingredient, documented by the role of Japanese American legislators, not the only cause.
- Objection: The system corrected itself. Mitigation: Partly. Ford's proclamation, the commission, vacated convictions, the 1988 apology, payments to 82,219 people, and the 2018 repudiation are real. But it took 41 to 46 years; payments went only to those alive in 1988; Yasui died before his appeal was decided; and Korematsu was never formally overruled in a case squarely about it (Trump v. Hawaii said it was "gravely wrong" in a case on a different policy).
- Objection: Gov. Carr shows officials could and did resist. Mitigation: Carr's record is mixed and contested. He defended citizens' rights and accepted evacuees, but also called them "unwelcome guests" and did not publicly oppose Amache. Admirers blame his 1942 Senate loss on his stance; historian Greg Robinson disputes this. We should not cite him as a simple hero. (Densho, Ralph Carr)
Open questions: what would change our minds
- Exact date Amache became a National Historic Site: the NPS pages we loaded did not give it, so we left it out.
- Gov. Carr's 1942 public statements in primary form (radio address text) would let us quote him firsthand rather than through Densho.
- Voter registration or turnout data for Nisei on the West Coast in 1940 to 1942 would show how small the community's electoral weight actually was.
- Evidence that the decision to remove was driven by electoral pressure from other West Coast groups (for example, state political leaders) would strengthen the political-voice argument; evidence that it was purely a military judgment would weaken it.
- Roll-call votes on H.R. 442 and the 1980 commission statute were not checked; they would show how broad the coalition was.
- The verbatim text of Ford's "We now know what we should have known then" was not confirmed; we did not quote it.
Sources
| Title |
Publisher |
Supports |
| Executive Order 9066 (Milestone Documents) |
National Archives |
Date, text, ~122,000 moved, ~70,000 citizens, 10 sites, $20,000 |
| On display: EO 9066 and the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 |
National Archives, Prologue blog |
DeWitt orders, Reagan quote |
| Japanese American Incarceration |
National Park Service |
110,000 / two-thirds citizens; over 120,000 total |
| Amache, History and Culture; Learn About the Park |
National Park Service |
https://www.nps.gov/amch/learn/historyculture/index.htm ; https://www.nps.gov/amch/learn/index.htm |
| Ralph Carr |
Densho Encyclopedia |
Carr quotes, 1942 Senate loss, dispute over cause |
| Documents from Governor Ralph Carr's Collection |
Colorado State Archives |
1942 letters on Japanese Americans' rights |
| Ozawa v. United States, 260 U.S. 178 (1922) |
Justia |
Naturalization bar |
| Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U.S. 81 (1943) |
Justia |
Curfew upheld; "odious" quote; 1942 Act |
| Yasui v. United States, 320 U.S. 115 (1943) |
Justia |
Curfew conviction sustained; citizenship issue |
| Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944) |
Justia |
6-3 holding; Black, Murphy, Jackson quotes |
| Ex parte Endo, 323 U.S. 283 (1944) |
Justia |
Release of loyal citizen |
| Personal Justice Denied, Summary (1982) |
CWRIC / National Archives |
Main findings; no political voice; Issei citizenship bar |
| Personal Justice Denied, Part 2: Recommendations (1983) |
CWRIC / National Archives |
Apology, pardons, $20,000 recommendation |
| Personal Justice Denied (index page) |
National Archives |
Report dates |
| Korematsu v. United States, 584 F. Supp. 1406 (N.D. Cal. 1984) |
LSU Law mirror |
Concealed evidence; "constant caution" |
| Hirabayashi v. United States, 828 F.2d 591 (9th Cir. 1987) |
law.resource.org |
Both convictions vacated; destroyed report |
| Coram nobis cases |
Densho Encyclopedia |
Dates of rulings; Yasui outcome; document discovery |
| Civil Liberties Act of 1988, Pub. L. 100-383 |
govinfo (Statutes at Large 102 Stat. 903) |
Findings, apology, $20,000, eligibility |
| Civil Liberties Act of 1988 |
Densho Encyclopedia |
Legislators' role, H.R. 442, CWRIC 1980, Kean |
| DOJ press release, Feb. 19, 1999 |
U.S. Department of Justice |
82,219 paid, $1.6 billion, program closed |
| Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 |
Office of the Historian, State Dept. |
End of Asian naturalization bar |
| Immigration Act of 1952 |
Densho Encyclopedia |
40,000+ naturalized 1952 to 1965 |
| Truman veto message, June 25, 1952 |
Truman Library |
Veto, June 27 override |
| Proclamation 4417, An American Promise (1976) |
American Presidency Project, UCSB |
EO 9066 termination; "uprooting of loyal Americans" |
| Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. ___ (2018) |
Justia |
"gravely wrong" |
Found an error or a better source? We keep every correction on the record with its date and reason. Nothing here is quietly rewritten.
3. Sources and their details
One entry per source in the page's Sources table. "Checked" is the date the page says its sources were checked. A Wayback link and SHA-256 appear only where a snapshot has been recorded.
1. Executive Order 9066 (Milestone Documents)
- Publisher
- National Archives
- Date
- not stated in the title; see the source
- URL
- https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/executive-order-9066
- Supports
- Date, text, ~122,000 moved, ~70,000 citizens, 10 sites, $20,000
- Opened by us
- not stated
- Checked
- 2026-10-13
- Snapshot
- No snapshot or SHA-256 recorded in this packet yet.
2. On display: EO 9066 and the Civil Liberties Act of 1988
- Publisher
- National Archives, Prologue blog
- Date
- 1988
- URL
- https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/?p=12630
- Supports
- DeWitt orders, Reagan quote
- Opened by us
- not stated
- Checked
- 2026-10-13
- Snapshot
- No snapshot or SHA-256 recorded in this packet yet.
3. Japanese American Incarceration
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Date
- not stated in the title; see the source
- URL
- https://www.nps.gov/subjects/worldwarii/confinement.htm
- Supports
- 110,000 / two-thirds citizens; over 120,000 total
- Opened by us
- not stated
- Checked
- 2026-10-13
- Snapshot
- No snapshot or SHA-256 recorded in this packet yet.
4. Amache, History and Culture; Learn About the Park
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Date
- not stated in the title; see the source
- URL
- no link given
- Supports
- https://www.nps.gov/amch/learn/historyculture/index.htm ; https://www.nps.gov/amch/learn/index.htm
- Opened by us
- not stated
- Checked
- 2026-10-13
- Snapshot
- No snapshot or SHA-256 recorded in this packet yet.
5. Ralph Carr
- Publisher
- Densho Encyclopedia
- Date
- not stated in the title; see the source
- URL
- https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Ralph_Carr/
- Supports
- Carr quotes, 1942 Senate loss, dispute over cause
- Opened by us
- not stated
- Checked
- 2026-10-13
- Snapshot
- No snapshot or SHA-256 recorded in this packet yet.
8. Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U.S. 81 (1943)
- Publisher
- Justia
- Date
- 1943
- URL
- https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/320/81/
- Supports
- Curfew upheld; "odious" quote; 1942 Act
- Opened by us
- not stated
- Checked
- 2026-10-13
- Snapshot
- No snapshot or SHA-256 recorded in this packet yet.
9. Yasui v. United States, 320 U.S. 115 (1943)
- Publisher
- Justia
- Date
- 1943
- URL
- https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/320/115/
- Supports
- Curfew conviction sustained; citizenship issue
- Opened by us
- not stated
- Checked
- 2026-10-13
- Snapshot
- No snapshot or SHA-256 recorded in this packet yet.
10. Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944)
- Publisher
- Justia
- Date
- 1944
- URL
- https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/323/214/
- Supports
- 6-3 holding; Black, Murphy, Jackson quotes
- Opened by us
- not stated
- Checked
- 2026-10-13
- Snapshot
- No snapshot or SHA-256 recorded in this packet yet.
14. Personal Justice Denied (index page)
- Publisher
- National Archives
- Date
- not stated in the title; see the source
- URL
- https://www.archives.gov/research/aapi/ww2/justice
- Supports
- Report dates
- Opened by us
- not stated
- Checked
- 2026-10-13
- Snapshot
- No snapshot or SHA-256 recorded in this packet yet.
15. Korematsu v. United States, 584 F. Supp. 1406 (N.D. Cal. 1984)
- Publisher
- LSU Law mirror
- Date
- 1984
- URL
- https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/cases/pp/korematsu_II.htm
- Supports
- Concealed evidence; "constant caution"
- Opened by us
- not stated
- Checked
- 2026-10-13
- Snapshot
- No snapshot or SHA-256 recorded in this packet yet.
17. Coram nobis cases
- Publisher
- Densho Encyclopedia
- Date
- not stated in the title; see the source
- URL
- https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Coram_nobis_cases/
- Supports
- Dates of rulings; Yasui outcome; document discovery
- Opened by us
- not stated
- Checked
- 2026-10-13
- Snapshot
- No snapshot or SHA-256 recorded in this packet yet.
4. Every link used in the article
- Ozawa v. United States, Justia
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/260/178/
- CWRIC, Personal Justice Denied, Summary, National Archives
https://www.archives.gov/files/research/japanese-americans/justice-denied/summary.pdf
- National Archives, Milestone Documents
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/executive-order-9066
- National Archives, Prologue blog
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/?p=12630
- Hirabayashi v. United States, Justia
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/320/81/
- NPS, Japanese American Incarceration
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/worldwarii/confinement.htm
- NPS, Amache History and Culture
https://www.nps.gov/amch/learn/historyculture/index.htm
- NPS, Learn About the Park
https://www.nps.gov/amch/learn/index.htm
- Densho Encyclopedia, Ralph Carr
https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Ralph_Carr/
- Colorado State Archives, Carr Collection
https://archives.colorado.gov/sites/archives/files/Documents%20from%20Governor%20Ralph%20Carrs%20Collection_0.pdf
- Justia
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/320/115/
- Justia
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/323/214/
- Justia
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/323/283/
- Pub. L. 100-383, govinfo
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-102/pdf/STATUTE-102-Pg903.pdf
- Truman Library, veto message and note
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/182/veto-bill-revise-laws-relating-immigration-naturalization-and-nationality
- Office of the Historian, State Department
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/immigration-act
- Densho Encyclopedia, Immigration Act of 1952
https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Immigration_Act_of_1952/
- American Presidency Project
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-4417-american-promise
- Densho Encyclopedia, Civil Liberties Act of 1988
https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Civil_Liberties_Act_of_1988/
- Densho Encyclopedia, Coram nobis cases
https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Coram_nobis_cases/
- CWRIC Part 2, National Archives
https://www.archives.gov/files/research/japanese-americans/justice-denied/part-2-recommendations.pdf
- Korematsu v. United States, 584 F. Supp. 1406, LSU Law mirror
https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/cases/pp/korematsu_II.htm
- Hirabayashi v. United States, 828 F.2d 591, law.resource.org
https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/828/828.F2d.591.86-3887.86-3853.html
- DOJ press release, Feb. 19, 1999
https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/1999/February/059cr.htm
- Justia
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/585/17-965/
- Personal Justice Denied (index page)
https://www.archives.gov/research/aapi/ww2/justice
5. Revision history
First published (earliest change on record): 2026-10-22.
Corrections on the page
This page does not carry a correction table. Its change log is below.
Change log for the page
- 2026-10-27: Point links that reached the old preview home at the current site
- 2026-10-25: TOC 1025 overlay
- 2026-10-25: Cases banner 1025c (73 pages) and members update 33
- 2026-10-22: Initial mirror of michiinstitute.com (partial crawl) plus deploy files
6. How to cite
The Way (Michi Institute). "Japanese American Incarceration (1942 to 1988)." Case 08, The Observatory. Sources checked 2026-10-13. Packet built 2026-10-28. https://michiinstitute.com/cases/japanese-american-incarceration.html
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