How can we learn from the legal history of APAs in the U.S. in terms of what is happening right now in detention centers and tender age shelters among migrants, immigrants and refugees? What are some of the lessons?

Compare and contrast President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 and President Donald J. Trump’s “Family Separation Policy” (Zero Tolerance). Although majority of the refugees and immigrants currently affected by President Trump’s policy are not of Asian Pacific ancestry, “racialization” and “perpetual foreigner” treatment are present. Executive Order 9066 ordered people of Japanese ancestry living on the west coast (one-eight or more of Japanese ancestry) to be “relocated” first to “relocation centers” and then to “internment camps.” Much has been written about how the Japanese American family structure experienced a breakdown with mass incarceration. Others like George Takei have stated that even as problematic as internment of Japanese Americans was a grave violation of the U.S. Constitution, (President Ronald Reagan called it “a mistake.”), “at least parents and children” were not separated into different facilities. Japanese Americans have suffered generational trauma and scars. Psychologists, medical doctors, and educators have stated that the families that have been separated in contemporary times will undoubtedly carry scars from the “U.S. government-imposed” trauma.
How can we learn from the legal history of APAs in the U.S. in terms of what is happening right now in detention centers and tender age shelters among migrants, immigrants and refugees? What are some of the lessons? Frame the comparative analysis of Japanese Americans during WWII and today’s migrants within the various frameworks that Ancheta, Nakanishi, and Lai offer in their work.

Reading #4: People v. Hall http://www.cetel.org/1854_hall.html
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Reading #5: Yick Wo v. Hopkins http://supreme.justia.com/us/118/356/case.htmln
Reading #3: Tape v.Hurley Case (1885) http://www.asianamericanlegal.com/historical-cases/tape-v-hurley/
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Reading #4: Gong Lum v. Rice http://supreme.justia.com/us/275/78/case.html
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Reading # 5: Korematsu v. U.S. http://supreme.justia.com/us/323/214/case.html

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