Kay Ochi reflects on the dark history of Japanese American incarceration during World War II, highlighting her parents' experience in a desert camp. This history, which affected over 120,000 individuals, predominantly U.S. citizens, remains a significant part of Japanese American identity. Ochi and other civil rights activists draw parallels to current political actions by President Trump, who has invoked the Alien Enemies Act to justify potential detentions and deportations, echoing fears of past injustices against marginalized communities that could repeat.
"That was three years of pure hell," said Ochi, a third-generation Japanese American, who is president of the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego.
"It's a memory that still shapes the identity of generations of Japanese Americans today and is a widely recognized example of how one group of people's civil rights were ignored and violated."
"With the way the administration has gone forward with the executive orders, a lot of things seem to be able to happen again," said Susan Hasegawa, a local historian.
"The Alien Enemies Act...allows the president to detain or deport any aliens he considers dangerous to the peace and safety of the country."
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