[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 126 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 126
Honoring Fred T. Korematsu for his loyalty and patriotism to the United
States and expressing condolences to his family, friends, and
supporters on his death.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 27, 2005
Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Inouye, and Mr. Stevens) submitted the
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Honoring Fred T. Korematsu for his loyalty and patriotism to the United
States and expressing condolences to his family, friends, and
supporters on his death.
Whereas on January 30, 1919, Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu was born in Oakland,
California, to Japanese immigrants;
Whereas Fred Korematsu graduated from Oakland High School and tried on 2
occasions to enlist in the United States Army but was not accepted due
to a physical disability;
Whereas on December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States military base at
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, forcing the United States to enter World War II
against Japan, Germany, and Italy;
Whereas on February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive
Order number 9066 (42 Federal Register 1563) as ``protection against
espionage and against sabotage to national defense'', which authorized
the designation of ``military areas . . . from which any or all persons
may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to
enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restriction the
. . . Military Commander may impose in his discretion'';
Whereas the United States Army issued Civilian Exclusion Order Number 34,
directing that after May 9, 1942, all persons of Japanese ancestry were
to be removed from designated areas of the West Coast because they were
considered to be a security threat;
Whereas in response to that Civilian Exclusion Order, Fred Korematsu's family
reported to Tanforan, a former racetrack in the San Francisco area that
was used as 1 of 15 temporary detention centers, before being sent to an
internment camp in Topaz, Utah;
Whereas more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were similarly detained in 10
permanent War Relocation Authority camps located in isolated desert
areas of the States of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho,
Utah, and Wyoming, without any charges brought or due process accorded;
Whereas Fred Korematsu, then 22 years old and working as a shipyard welder in
Oakland, California, refused to join his family in reporting to
Tanforan, based on his belief that he was a loyal American and not a
security threat;
Whereas on May 30, 1942, Fred Korematsu was arrested and jailed for remaining in
a military area, tried in United States district court, found guilty of
violating Civilian Exclusion Order Number 34, and sentenced to 5 years
of probation;
Whereas Fred Korematsu unsuccessfully challenged that Civilian Exclusion Order
as it applied to him, and appealed the decision of the district court to
the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, where his
conviction was sustained;
Whereas Fred Korematsu was subsequently confined with his family in the
internment camp in Topaz for 2 years, and during that time, he appealed
his conviction to the United States Supreme Court;
Whereas on December 18, 1944, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Korematsu
v. United States, 323 U.S. 214, which upheld Fred Korematsu's conviction
by a vote of 6-to-3, based on the finding of the Supreme Court that Fred
Korematsu was not removed from his home ``because of hostility to him or
his race'' but because the United States was at war with Japan and the
United States military ``feared an invasion of our West Coast'';
Whereas Fred Korematsu continued to maintain his innocence for decades following
World War II;
Whereas, under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the
``Freedom of Information Act''), an historian discovered numerous
government documents indicating that, at the time Korematsu v. United
States, 323 U.S. 214, was decided, the Federal Government suppressed
findings that Japanese Americans on the West Coast were not security
threats;
Whereas in light of this newly discovered information, Fred Korematsu filed a
writ of error coram nobis with the United States District Court for the
Northern District of California;
Whereas on November 10, 1983, United States District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel
overturned Fred Korematsu's conviction, concluding that senior
government officials knew there was no factual basis for the claim of
``military necessity'' when they presented their case before the Supreme
Court in 1944;
Whereas in that decision, Judge Patel stated that, while Korematsu v. United
States ``remains on the pages of our legal and political history...[as]
historical precedent it stands as a constant caution that in times of
war or declared military necessity our institutions must be vigilant in
protecting constitutional guarantees'';
Whereas the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians,
authorized by Congress in 1980 to review the facts and circumstances
surrounding the relocation and internment of Japanese Americans under
Executive Order Number 9066 (42 Federal Register 1563), concluded that
``today the decision in Korematsu lies overruled in the court of
history'';
Whereas the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians
concluded that a ``grave personal injustice was done to the American
citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry who, without
individual review or any probative evidence against them were excluded,
removed and detained by the United States during World War II'', and
that those acts were ``motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime
hysteria, and a failure of political leadership'';
Whereas the overturning of Fred Korematsu's conviction and the findings of
Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians influenced
the decision by Congress to pass the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (50
U.S.C. App. 1989b et seq.) to request a Presidential apology and
symbolic payment of compensation to persons of Japanese ancestry who
lost liberty or property because of discriminatory action by the Federal
Government;
Whereas on August 10, 1988, President Reagan signed that Act into law, stating,
``[H]ere we admit a wrong; here we reaffirm our commitment as a nation
to equal justice under the law'';
Whereas on January 15, 1998, President Clinton awarded the Medal of Freedom, the
highest civilian award of the United States, to Fred Korematsu, stating,
``In the long history of our country's constant search for justice, some
names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls: Plessy, Brown,
Parks. To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred
Korematsu.'';
Whereas Fred Korematsu remained a tireless advocate for civil liberties and
justice throughout his life, particularly speaking out against racial
discrimination and violence targeting Arab, Muslim, South Asian, and
Sikh Americans in the wake of the September 11, 2001, tragedy, and
cautioning the Federal Government against repeating mistakes of the past
by singling out individuals for heightened scrutiny on the basis of
race, ethnicity, or religion;
Whereas on March 30, 2005, Fred Korematsu died at the age of 86 in Larkspur,
California; and
Whereas Fred Korematsu was a role model for all Americans who love the United
States and the promises contained in the Constitution, and his strength
and perseverance serve as an inspiration for all people striving for
equality and justice: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) honors Fred T. Korematsu for his loyalty and patriotism
to the United States, his work to advocate for the civil rights
and civil liberties of all Americans, and his dedication to
justice and equality; and
(2) expresses its deepest condolences to his family,
friends, and supporters on his death.
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