Presidential Executive Orders
As a Japanese American, I worry about how President Trump can bypass Congress by using the EXECUTIVE ORDER privilege to “protect America.” I am a 3rd-generation American; my parents were both born in Los Angeles and their parents were born in Japan. In 1942, my mother’s family was incarcerated in Rohwer, Arkansas and forced to leave their home and business (Yamasa) in Los Angeles, while my father’s family was incarcerated in Manzanar, California. My entire extended family lost all of their properties, businesses, and personal possessions as they only had a few days to pack up and leave their homes. They lived behind barbed wire for over 3 years.
Then-president Roosevelt signed the infamous Executive Order 9066 in 1942 (following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor), which allowed him to set policy without congressional approval – avoiding public debate and opposition. With just a few days’ notice, all 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans living in the United States were required to relocate to one of 10 internment centers in the United States.
Why? Americans were angry about the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and needed to point their hatred and prejudice toward something tangible. While Japanese Americans were and are 100% Americans like Irish Americans, German Americans, and the other European Americans, they looked like the enemy – the Imperial Japanese from Japan. Even though the government claimed to fear espionage, not one Japanese American was ever caught doing any such activity. As a matter of fact, the Japanese American 442nd infantry regiment was the most decorated combat team in WWII. Talk about patriotism: They fought for America while their families were incarcerated. Wow.
As I write this blog, Trump has announced his first executive order: building his wall on the border with Mexico. He is using tax-payer money to start his wall but claims that he’ll have Mexico pay for the rest of the wall (with a 20% tax on all imports from Mexico as part of the Border-Adjustment VAT). This also means that he is hiring an additional 5,000 Border Patrol agents and 10,000 immigration officers. With just 34,000 beds available for immigration detention, it looks like private prison companies will be utilized to handle the 8 million undocumented workers.
It’s been 75 years since Roosevelt issued the Executive Order 9066. We as Americans need to stand up for our rights and unite to prevent any deliberate attack on any group of people. Today it’s undocumented workers – will it be Muslims tomorrow? I’m worried about how Trump will use his Presidential Executive Order privilege to discriminate and further divide this nation.