Would you believe that your nationality could be used against you during World War II? Want to guess where this happened? During World War II, this happened right here in the United States. Most Americans have a tendency to believe that things of this nature don’t happen here or didn’t happen here, but it actually did happen in the United States, the land of the free. The United States is known for welcoming immigrants with open arms, but this particular person was one of its own – an American-born citizen.
In the Supreme Court case Kiyoshi Hirabayashi v. United States, 320, U.S. 81 (1943) it states that this person is described as an American born citizen of Japanese ancestry born to alien Japanese parents in Seattle, Washington in 1918. He was educated in the public school in his respective state being the State of Washington, and at the time of his arrest, he was a senior at the University of Washington. He claimed that he never had an allegiance to the Empire of Japan, never visited Japan, and never had any associations with any Japanese in Japan.
Did this matter in a military conquered zone? No way! Individual rights no longer meant anything of value in conquered areas. If you were part of a group that was deemed dangerous, then you no longer had any rights to speak of. In actuality, you were considered the “enemy,” and you were treated as such, even though you never committed any crimes.
He was found guilty of a misdemeanor – two counts – in a jury trial in the district court where he knowingly disregarded restrictions, a curfew which was applicable between the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., and failed to report to the Civil Control Station in May of 1942 in order to register for evacuation from the military designated area. These orders were imposed by a military commander by the name of Lt. Commander J. L. DeWitt in the military controlled areas as authorized by an Executive Order No. 9066 of the President of the United States and an Act of Congress of March 21, 1942. This American-born citizen of Japanese ancestry was sentenced to imprisonment of 6 months total. Did he actually commit a crime?
He claimed that the Act of Congress of March 21, 1942 was unconstitutional, and that he believed that he would wave his rights, if he performed according to Lt. General DeWitt’s orders.
On December 8, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and the next day, Congress declared war on Japan. In February, 1942, the Secretary of War designated Lt. General DeWitt as military commander of the Western Defense Command which included the pacific coast States including Seattle, Washington where the appellant lived.
As a “military necessity,” Lt. General DeWitt established military zones within the respective pacific coastal States including parts of Arizona, and prescribed certain restrictions on all alien Japanese, all alien Germans, all alien Italians, and all persons of Japanese ancestry who lived within the military zones, and a curfew was installed between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Further restrictions were also imposed on all persons of Japanese ancestry of which one was to register for evacuation at the Civil Control Station in Seattle. It is interesting to note that Lincoln also used “military necessity” in order to use arbitrary powers so as to falsely arrest citizens, who were critical of his dictatorial regime, and who were loyal to the Constitution of the United States. Some things never change.
Now, what does it mean to have “military zones” within the States of the United States? Doesn’t it mean an invasion of certain areas? Doesn’t it mean some areas were conquered? And when certain places are invaded and conquered, doesn’t it mean that your rights have been decreased and/or eliminated, if you happen to live in these military zones? You bet! Lt. General DeWitt now had full control of those areas, and what he said went. He was the designated dictator in those military zones. If you happen to be part of a certain group which was considered dangerous and/or evil, then your life was restricted in whatever manner the Lt. General prescribed.
Furthermore, what does it mean to “register for evacuation?” Could this mean that all registrants be placed in concentration camps at some point? Why the need to register anyone if not to know who they are and where they are located? In this case regarding conquered areas, what else could it mean? It is a known fact that all those of Japanese ancestry were actually placed in concentration camps in these United States during World War II.
Let us now consider Executive Orders. Lincoln was the first president to issue executive orders. Did he have the authority to exercise such orders? No, not at all! Where in the Constitution of the United States does it give any president the use of executive orders in order to conduct business as the president of the United States? It is no where to be found in that document, and the president’s role is to execute laws created by the Congress as prescribed in Article 1, Section 8 and no other. So, did President Franklin Roosevelt have the authority to exercise Executive Order No. 9066 in this case? No, he did not!
Let us now examine “Acts of Congress.” In the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the old rule 54 (c) – now Rule 1 – says “Act of Congress” includes any act of Congress locally applicable to and in force in the District of Columbia, in Puerto Rico, in a territory or in an insular possession. “State” includes District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, territory, and insular possessions.”
Was Mr. Hirabayashi correct to claim the Act of Congress of March 21, 1942 to be unconstitutional? If he meant its application in the 48 States (Hawaii and Alaska became States in 1959) of these United States, then yes, he was correct. Did he actually commit a crime if the Act of Congress was unconstitutional? No, he did not!
This “Act of Congress” in this case referred to a misdemeanor (each count), if restrictions were violated in those designated military zones as prescribed by the military commander. Those military zones were located in the Pacific coastal States plus a part of Arizona, and it was unconstitutional to apply this “Act of Congress” in any of the 48 States. There is no authority whatsoever according to the Constitution of the United States to establish military zones in those 48 States, and to impose restrictions of its citizens and lawful aliens.
Was Mr. Hirabayashi unfairly found guilty and imprisoned? You bet!
Chief Justice Stone of the Supreme Court (and the rest of the justices who agreed with him), if he were alive today, ought to be ashamed of himself for affirming the guilty verdict of the lower court, and that this American-born citizen’s verdict be upheld and sent to prison. I wonder what happened to him after he left prison? Did he go to a concentration camp?
And lastly, let’s imagine for a moment that the United States invaded Canada for some reason. Very unlikely, but the point is ………. What would happen to all those alien Canadians who currently live in the United States? What would happen to those Canadians who became citizens of their respective States? Would they be living in “military zones,” too and subject to certain restrictions because they are Canadians? Would they have to register and then be placed in concentration camps, too? Think about this. What can happen to one group can also happen to another group in this country. This is a scary thought, isn’t it?
September 30, 2004
