A repeating history of indefinite detention

Feb 18

Episode

A repeating history of indefinite detention

Citizens say NDAA echoes US policies of Japanese internment.

Members of the Japanese-American Mochida family awaiting re-location to a camp, Hayward, California. Dorothea Lange/Getty Images

What lessons has the United States learned from Japanese internment? Following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent were forced from their homes and incarcerated in military-guarded camps from 1942-1946. Although the majority of those interned were US citizens, they were not notified of their charges, nor were they guaranteed the right to a trial.

Now the descendants of Japanese-American internees argue that the United States is repeating history with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act and its provision for the indefinite detention of US citizens.

Read more:

NDAA & Incarceration of Japanese Americans - Repeating History

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to:

Karen Korematsu @korematsu
Co-founder, Fred T. Korematsu Institute
korematsuinstitute.org

Carl Mayer
Founder, The Mayer Law Group
stopndaa.org

Mary Murakami
Former Japanese American Internee

What do you think? Is history repeating itself, and to what extent does NDAA threaten constitutional rights? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

View the story "A repeating history of indefinite detention" on StorifyA repeating history of indefinite detentionCitizens say NDAA echoes US policies of Japanese internment.Storified by The Stream· Mon, Feb 18 2013 10:12:03On February 19, 1942, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans and those of Japanese descent to internment camps. Japanese Internment during WW IIretafmilPinterestThe following video shows the US government's explanation for the camps. Japanese Relocation - U.S. Gov't Explanation 1942 (Japanese Internment Camps)fasttrackhistoryPhotographer Bill Manbo took rare colour photos of the internment camp at Heart Mountain, Wyoming. The photos were published in the book, "Colors of Confinement: Rare Kodachrome Photographs of Japanese American Incarceration in World War II". Content from Japanese KodachromeAJstream's Japanese Kodachrome setThis map, produced by the Densho project, shows sites of the internment camps. Map Source: http://www.densho.orgAJstreamJapanese Americans who were moved to the camps discussed their experiences for the Densho project. In this video, Akiko Kurose tells the story of her treatment in school after Pearl Harbor was bombed. Densho Oral History - Akiko Kurosedenshoproject

In 1942, photographer Dorothea Lange captured a series of images depicting the lives of Japanese Americans. Below, a Japanese-American shop owner hangs a sign over his storefront that reads "I am an American".

PublicintelligenceA family waits to have their belongings inspected for contraband: PublicintelligenceSince Japanese internment ended in 1946, those Japanese Americans who challenged Executive Order 9066, such as Fred Korematsu (below) have emerged as defenders of civil liberties. korematsuAJstream

This year, passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has led relatives of several Japanese Americans who challenged the Executive Order to draw parallels between internment and the NDAA provision that allows for indefinite detention of US citizens. WordpressChallenging NDAA Indefinite Detention, First PanelJoe FriendlyBen Swann discusses the contentious nature of the indefinite detention provision.Understanding The 2013 NDAA: Part 2- Section 1029benswannrealitycheckThe NDAA is being challenged in the lawsuit Hedges v. Obama. Last year, a New York district court ruled against the indefinite detention clause, however, Obama administration lawyers have appealed the ruling.Chris Hedges: NDAA Lawsuit UpdatewearechangeNetizens and public figures, including MIT linguist Noam Chomsky, have also contested the policy of indefinite detention.Noam Chomsky on #NDAA indefinite detention-- undermining 800 years of legal precedent for our most basic human rights. http://pic.twitter.com/x2jgGzS4Alexa O'BrienSome US states are attempting to invalidate the indefinite detention clause, claiming that it exceeds the powers of the federal government. #NDAA NEWS: States Join the Fight to Nullify Indefinite Detention Under NDAA - The New American #StopNDAA - http://goo.gl/AK16uVoidNDAAConstantly creating "boogymen" & manufacturing fear allows govt to then pass laws like #NDAA #PatriotAct #CISPA http://pic.twitter.com/8DUzBQcFkurtizzThe Stream asked: Should a country's military be allowed to indefinitely detain citizens? What about in times of war? @AJStream there is no time that excuses tyranny. Any excuse deeming it acceptable will only loosen government obligations towards its peopleJeed@AJStream If they break the law in a way that threatens the national security during ongoing factual war yes, all other circumstances no!Carl Hakim AchriWhat lessons has the US government learned from internment?@AJStream The lesson we learned is how to hide internment better,many Muslims were picked up & shipped to shady places w/no legal recourseSaria@AJStream As far as I know it's still "good law" -- meaning the laws that had them interned are still in effect ...Patrick Gallahue@mmbilal @AJStream It happened to us http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/02/18/muscogee-man-held-terrorist-threat-charge-attempted-prayer-hickory-ground-147732 #NDAA #civilrights #freespeechHickory GroundChildren of interned Japanese Americans are now advocating against NDAA. What do you think of their case?@AJStream It's a legitimate one. The internment of Japanese citizens circa WWII is one of America's greatest civil rights' stainsKhaled Bey