119-hres77

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 77 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 77

Supporting the designation of January 30, 2025, as ``Fred Korematsu Day 
 of Civil Liberties and the Constitution''.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 28, 2025

 Mr. Takano (for himself, Ms. Tokuda, and Ms. Matsui) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
 Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

Supporting the designation of January 30, 2025, as ``Fred Korematsu Day 
 of Civil Liberties and the Constitution''.

Whereas Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu was born on January 30, 1919, in Oakland, 
 California, to Japanese immigrant parents;
Whereas Fred Korematsu attempted to enlist in the United States National Guard 
 and the United States Coast Guard after the United States entered World 
 War II and was rejected because of his Japanese ancestry;
Whereas, after the signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, by 
 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which authorized the forced 
 imprisonment of 120,000 people of Japanese descent into prison camps, 
 the majority of whom were American citizens, Fred Korematsu resisted 
 that infringement of American civil liberties and attempted to continue 
 his life as an American citizen until he was arrested, convicted, and 
 incarcerated at a concentration camp in Topaz, Utah;
Whereas, in 1944, Fred Korematsu appealed his case to the United States Supreme 
 Court, which ruled against him, declaring in Korematsu v. United States 
 that Japanese incarceration was a ``military necessity'' rather than an 
 egregious act of racial discrimination;
Whereas, in 1980, President Jimmy Carter created the Commission on Wartime 
 Relocation and Internment of Civilians

    (CWRIC) , which concluded in 1983 
 that the forced removal and imprisonment of people of Japanese ancestry 
 was motivated by ``race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of 
 political leadership'';
Whereas, during this time, researchers at the University of California, San 
 Diego uncovered documents from the United States Department of Justice 
 in which intelligence agencies, including the FBI, the FCC, and the 
 Office of Naval Intelligence, denied that Japanese-Americans ever 
 committed wrongdoing, but which were never presented to the United 
 States Supreme Court during Korematsu v. United States;
Whereas, following the conclusion of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and 
 Internment of Civilians and the findings on governmental misconduct, 
 Fred Korematsu reopened his case, and on November 10, 1983, the United 
 States District Court of Northern California in San Francisco overturned 
 his conviction;
Whereas Fred Korematsu's courageously fought injustice by challenging the 
 constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, and his lawsuit remains an 
 important lesson about the fragility of individual civil liberties 
 during a time when the Nation is experiencing threats to its national 
 security;
Whereas Fred Korematsu continued to fight injustice and defend the liberties of 
 Muslim people when, in 2003, he warned in an amicus brief that the 
 United States extreme national security measures following the terrorist 
 attacks of September 11, 2001, were reminiscent of the mistakes of the 
 past that undermined American civil liberties, including the Alien and 
 Sedition Acts of 1798, the suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil 
 War, the prosecution of dissenters during World War I, the Red Scare of 
 1919-1920, the interment of people of Japanese descent during World War 
 II, and the era of loyalty oaths and McCarthyism during the Cold War;
Whereas the democratic character of the American people will be nourished and 
 enhanced by opportunities for civic education on the significant 
 challenges that have been posed to our Constitution;
Whereas a day of annual national reflection on how the Fred Korematsu quest for 
 justice is important to educating the American people about preserving 
 civil liberties and the principle of equality before the law; and
Whereas the States of California, Florida, Hawaii, Virginia, Arizona, New 
 Jersey, and Michigan have already designated January 30 as Fred 
 Korematsu Day to commemorate his lifelong fight for civil liberties and 
 the Constitution: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) supports the designation of a ``Fred Korematsu Day of 
 Civil Liberties and the Constitution'';

    (2) recognizes Fred Korematsu's bravery and resilience in 
 the face of adversity; and

    (3) encourages all people to reflect on the importance of 
 political leadership and vigilance and on the values of justice 
 and civil rights during times of uncertainty and emergency.
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