By Asian Week Staff
The struggle to redress the unjust government treatment of persons of Japanese ancestry during World War II reached another landmark.
Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, announced he would introduce a Senate companion bill to H.R.619, the Wartime Parity and Justice Act of 2001.
The bill has already been introduced to the House by Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif. It provides redress for Japanese Americans who have been denied compensation under the Civil Liberties Act (CLA) of 1988 for technical reasons.
The bill also grants redress equity for Japanese Latin Americans who were uprooted from their homes in Peru and 12 other Latin American countries, incarcerated with Japanese Americans during the war, and used as pawns in a hostage exchange program for United States civilian prisoners held by Japan.
“We are very appreciative of Senator’s Inouye’s support,” said Grace Shimizu, director of the Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project. “He has great influence in Washington because he has served as a congressman and senator from Hawaii for over four decades. With his backing, Japanese Latin Americans will finally get equitable redress, and a new generation of Americans will become more aware of the dangers of mass-based roundups of civilians based on race.”
The CLA of 1988 called for a presidential apology and a payment of $20,000 per Japanese American who had been interned and who was still alive at that time.
Many Japanese Latin Americans (JLAs) were denied eligibility by the U.S. government, who did not consider them to be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Instead, JLAs were declared “illegal aliens,” despite the fact that the U.S. government initiated and orchestrated the scheme where over 2,200 JLAs were forcibly deported and interned in the United States for the purpose of hostage exchange.
A class action lawsuit filed in federal court in 1996 resulted in a settlement where the government issued an apology and provided $5,000 in redress payments to some JLAs. Part of that settlement allowed for further action by Congress to fully fund JLA redress. It also allowed JLAs who opted out of the class to pursue their remedies in court, and some have done so.
For example, the case of Shibayama v. Reno was just heard at the United States Court of Federal Claims on July 6. Isamu “Art” Shibayama, appearing on behalf of himself and his brothers Kenichi Javier and Takeshi Jorge, appeared before Judge Marian Blank Horn in the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C.
Speaking through noted human rights attorney Karen Parker, the Shibayamas pressed the court to address the merits of their case. Judge Horn was sympathetic to their claims, at one time mentioning that her own parents had come to America because they were excluded from their country of origin.
However, she also seemed receptive to the claims of the Justice Department attorney that the Shibayama claims were barred because they failed to meet key tests of jurisdiction: They had not exhausted their administrative remedies at the Office of Redress Administration, they were barred by statutes of limitations, and they did not meet the threshold eligibility requirement of permanent residency.
No decision was made from the bench, so litigants must wait for a decision by Judge Horn. Court officials would not speculate as to when that opinion could be expected. |
