Through archival research and interviews, JACL interns uncover histories of Japanese American hardship to warn: Don’t Let History Repeat

By: Mayu Altekar-Okazaki, Satoshi Isayama, Kiyone Tanaka-Gacayan, San Jose JACL Interns

Introduction

Nine students are working with JACL's Social Justice Action Committee to gather and retell personal histories of Japanese Americans and Japanese Latin Americans detained by the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) during World War II. Through interviews with descendants and archival research, the team is weaving narratives that expose how wartime authorities denied due process and equal protection to innocent Japanese immigrants. These stories are featured at:  jacl.org/alien-enemies-act-stories. The stories are being prepared for use in public exhibits, social-media campaigns and amicus (friend of the court) briefs to shine a light on forced removals, indefinite detentions, and deportations of Japanese enacted under the AEA. The Alien Enemies Act Stories Project complements the JACL work to support the ACLU’s challenge to the use of the AEA in the courts, the stories are part of a broad based communications plan to ensure that the injustices of the past are known—and remembered—to prevent history from repeating.

Student Intern Profiles

Mayu Altekar-okazaki – Palo Alto High School, Sophomore

When I learned about the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) last year, I was shocked that I had never heard about it before. Hearing how the FBI arrested people without notice or due process, with false reasoning, reminded me of the current events that are going on today. Learning that the President has used the AEA to force a similar terrible fate on even more people made me want to bring awareness to the experiences of Japanese so history wouldn’t repeat itself.

I was able to research and interview four descendants of those detained by the AEA, including JACL National President, Mr. Larry Oda, whose story was included in the amicus brief filed on behalf of the JACL and over 60 AAPI organizations on June 2. 2025.

By using stories collected by me and Katie Masano Hill, Norman Y. Mineta Policy Fellow, I created two 6-foot panels to display at the JACL National Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to inform more people about the struggles that 17,000 Japanese nationals went through. I was also given the opportunity to staff the exhibit table and share more information about the details of the AEA with convention attendees and explain why it’s so relevant today.

Satoshi Isayama – Palo Alto High School, Junior

Even though I studied Japanese American history through high school classes and the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), I didn’t fully grasp the weight of the term “incarceration” until I spoke with Victor Uno.

When Victor shared his grandfather's experiences during WWII, I realized how shallow my understanding was. Victor Uno, a retired union electrician and social justice organizer, told me the story of his grandfather, George Kumemaro Uno, who is a reminder to persevere and aid others in the face of adversity.

Born in Japan in 1886, George was a self-taught entomologist, railroad worker, painter, and community leader. He moved to the U.S. in the early 1900s to build a better life for his growing family. He spoke both English and Japanese, as well as helped establish a Christian church in Salt Lake City. Above all, he was a man who cared deeply for his family. Having 10 children, George dedicated himself to provide for them—being one of the reasons they came to America in the first place.

In 1942, George Uno, was detained and incarcerated under the Alien Enemies Act for over five and a half years, much longer than most incarcerees held under Executive Order 9066. Wayne Collins, the attorney who helped many Japanese Americans, helped him finally get released in 1947 - two years after World War II ended. The government never found any evidence of espionage or wrongdoing; he was simply a hardworking entomologist. “The only thing that feared George Uno was four-legged creatures,” Victor recounted, “because the Germans taught him taxidermy in the Crystal City internment camp.”

While his wife and children were sent to the Amache incarceration camp, George was held in DOJ camps across the country, including Bismarck, Santa Fe, and Crystal City, due to his Issei status. Despite the injustice, he remained strong—teaching English and stepping up as a community leader inside the camps. Learning this history made me think differently about the world we live in today. Memories remain fresh for Japanese American descendants, especially now as the Alien Enemies Act is being used again to detain and deport Venezuelan immigrants without evidence or due process.

I’m grateful to help share George Uno’s story—and the Uno family’s—because at a time when people’s rights are under threat once more, it’s more important than ever.

Kiyone Tanaka-Gacayan – San Jose State University, 1st year

I have always felt drawn to history, especially Japanese American history—that is why I volunteer at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj), and why I took interest in participating in the JACL’s Alien Enemies Act Stories Project.

When I joined the project, I already had a rather strong background in Japanese American history. That proved to be advantageous when I was researching the complicated story of Erich Nakano’s grandfather, Minoru Nakano, through his government records. Reading through the government files made his past traumas painfully real. Feeling both crushed—and angry—I had to reconcile the fact that they sent Minoru into the Department of Justice Santa Fe Internment Camp despite stating that he never did anything subversive. It was just the fact that he, and so many others, were labeled “enemy aliens” or “disloyal” simply because of their Japanese ancestry, and were punished because of it.

Thousands of Japanese immigrants were denied due process, and these stories of hardship—many just the same as Minoru’s—are only a reminder that we must stay vigilant. Anybody, if they have the label “enemy alien” forced onto them, can be targeted next.

The AEA has left many of its victims unable to speak about the trauma they endured. Seeing the pain that my family still holds today, I want to ensure that I, and the other people of my generation, take the steps to put an end to these modern injustices.

Historical Context

The wartime law Alien Enemies Act (AEA) of 1798 grants the president authority to regulate, detain, and deport noncitizens during either a declared war, or in response to an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” by foreign governments.

In WWII, President Franklin D. Roosevelt invoked the AEA, following the Pearl Harbor attack, through Proclamation 2525 (December 7, 1941). The law enabled sweeping restrictions on noncitizens—where they could live, where they could travel, and what items (such as radios, cameras, and books) they could possess—which led to internment and deportation without due process, regardless of immigration status or criminal history. The proclamation eventually led to Executive Order 9066 (February 19. 1942) and the mass incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry.

Modern Usage

With the AEA last being used in World War II to target over 31,000 Japanese, German, and Italian noncitizens based solely on their ancestry, it has now been invoked against alleged Venezuelan gang members—despite the absence of a declared war or foreign incursion.

President Trump cited the law in 2017 to first justify the unofficially-named Muslim travel ban (Executive Order 13769), he has now referenced it again during his 2024 campaign and 2025 inaugural address, signalling intent to use the statute.

In response, the San Jose JACL launched the Alien Enemies Stories Project to document the personal accounts of about 17,000 Japanese, and Japanese Latin Americans, incarcerated under Proclamation 2525.

Without due process, and in the absence of declared war or invasion by a foreign government, the AEA should not be invoked. Despite this, on March 15, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order invoking the AEA, then deporting a plane load of Venezuelan immigrants—the ACLU was the first to legally challenge Trump’s inappropriate usage of the AEA. The JACL aims to support the ACLU’s lawsuits through amicus briefs with stories taken from the AEA Stories Project.

“Our goal is to remind the courts and the public that the AEA is not just a relic—it caused irreparable harm to our community,” said Naoko Fujii, Chair of the JACL Social Justice Action Committee. “By sharing these stories, we aim to connect the dots between past and present due process violations.”

Conclusion

The symbolic location of the 2025 JACL National Convention—New Mexico—underscored the AEA’s legacy. Convention participants went on guided pilgrimages to both the Department of Justice camp in Santa Fe and the U.S. Army camp in Lordsburg. Both sites held enemy aliens including Japanese, Germans and Italians. Participants felt firsthand what it was like to endure 95-degree heat in uncooled barracks.

The Alien Enemies Act Stories Project continues to bring this history to light. Justice across generations demands that we listen, learn—and act. Find the AEA stories here: https://jacl.org/alien-enemies-act.