11/18/2015

Virginia mayor opposes Syrian refugees, citing WWII internment of Japanese Americans - LA Times

Nation

Virginia mayor opposes Syrian refugees,

citing WWII internment of Japanese
Americans
By Matt Pearce Contact Reporter

NOVEMBER 18, 2015, 2:12 PM

Virginia mayor cited America's mass detention of Japanese Americans during World
War II in a public announcementvoicing his support to deny Syrian refugees the
opportunity to resettle in the United States.

In a letter on official city stationery, Roanoke, Va., Mayor David A. Bowers called on local
governments and nonprofits to join more than half of the nation's governorswho have saidthey do
not want to accept Syrian refugees into their states, citing security concerns afterlast week's Paris
terrorist attacks that killed at least 129 people.
But there was one paragraph in Bowers' letter Wednesday -- which called Roanoke a "welcoming
city" -- that was highly unusual:
"I'm reminded that President Franklin D. Roosevelt felt compelled to sequester Japanese foreign
nationals after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and it appears that the threat of harm to America
from [Islamic State] now is just as real and series as that from our enemies then," Bowers said in
the statement.
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For many public officials across the nation, the mass detention of Japanese Americans during
World War II has long beenone of the most embarrassing moments in the nation's history -- a
dark chapterthat has been apologized for and legally repudiated.
A quick search of the word "Roanoke" on Twitter revealed a torrent of criticismagainst the city for
the mayor's reference to Japanese American internment.
One person on the city's Facebook page called the mayor's comments "utterly disgraceful," adding:
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Virginia mayor opposes Syrian refugees, citing WWII internment of Japanese Americans - LA Times

"In no way should this ever be spoken of in a positive manner, nor should it be used as a
justification for denying refuge to people fleeing from the very terrorists you are so concerned
about."
The nation's governors have no authority to reject the federal government's resettlement of Syrian
refugees into their states through a long-established program. The Obama administrationhas
plans to accept about 10,000 refugees this fiscal year.
But political oppositionto the plan grew quickly this week as the world has been transfixed with
the grim aftermath of the Paris attacks. On Thursday, Congress will debate whether to pause the
resettlement program.
President Obama said that denying entry to Syrian refugees would be like "slamming the door in
their faces" and a "betrayal of our values."
Throughout the debate this week, many on social media platformsreferenced the agony of the
Japanese internment and the fear of Jewish migrants during World War II as reasons why
Americans should not turn their backs on Syrian refugees.
In 1942, America was reeling from the Japanese attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor and
was building a war machine to fight its enemies around the world.
In a memorandumto the U.S. secretary of Defense, Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt, commanding general
of the Western Defense Command, laid out in stark racial terms why Japanese Americans should
be evacuated off the Pacific Coast.
"In the war in which we are now engaged, racial affinities are not severed by migration," DeWitt
wrote. "The Japanese race is an enemy race and while many second- and third-generation
Japanese born on United States soil, possessed of United States citizenship, have become
'Americanized,' the racial strains are undiluted."
DeWitt describedmore than 100,000 Japanese Americans as "potential enemies."
"The very fact that no sabotage has taken place to date is a disturbing and confirming indication
that such action will be taken," he said at the time.
DeWitt wasn't alone. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously urged Roosevelt
to go ahead with Japanese detention, saying it was difficult if not impossible to distinguish
between loyal and disloyal Japanese aliens.
In February 1942, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which resulted in more than 100,000
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Virginia mayor opposes Syrian refugees, citing WWII internment of Japanese Americans - LA Times

Japanese Americans being uprooted and held in detention camps for several years, along with
thousands of people of German and Italian descent.
President Ford rescindedthe detention orderin 1976, and in 1988, President Reagan signed
legislation that apologized and paid reparations for the U.S. government's decision to apprehend
and place Japanese Americans in internment camps.
When the checks and letters of apology went out in 1991, President George H.W. Bush wrote
tosurviving families: A monetary sum and words alone cannot restore lost years or erase painful
memories; neither can they fully convey our nations resolve to rectify injustice and to uphold the
rights of individuals. We can never fully right the wrongs of the past. But we can take a clear stand
for justice and recognize that serious injustices were done to Japanese Americans during World
War II.
Roanoke Mayor Bowers did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Follow @MattDPearce on Twitter for national news.

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This article is related to: Japan, Asia, World War II (1939-1945)

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Virginia mayor opposes Syrian refugees, citing WWII internment of Japanese Americans - LA Times

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