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On Feb. 19, 1942, shortly after Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order that enabled the forced removal and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans in camps located mostly in the western United States.

Those camps closed a few years later and those who were detained resettled around the country. 

Vinicius Taguchi, president of the local chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, said he sees parallels between this troubling history and the present.

Particularly, the rhetoric used by the current Trump administration.

“[During World War II] there was a lot of scapegoating and wartime hysteria,” Taguchi said. “That some people have to be kept on a registry, potentially needing to be locked away, if necessary. That’s very frightening language for us.”

The Minnesota chapter was founded in 1946 and has worked for decades to raise awareness about what the Japanese American community experienced to prevent history from repeating itself.

As the group marks 83 years since Executive Order 9066, Taguchi believes this work is as urgent than ever.

“If your rights can be taken away with the flick of a pen, are they truly rights or are they privileges? That’s something we need to be aware of, and that’s something we need to fight for — to secure rights for the strongest and the weakest among us.”

For the full interview with Taguchi, use the audio player above.

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Executive Order 9066 led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. Vinicius Taguchi of the Japanese American Citizens League sees parallels between this troubling history and the present.

An executive order that enabled the forced removal and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans was issued 83 years ago. Vinicius Taguchi of the Japanese American Citizens League sees parallels between this troubling history and the present.

83 years after mass incarceration, Japanese Americans warn it could happen again

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