America's Reasons for Interning the Latin American Japanese
America had been making plans for Japanese Internment prior to the outbreak of war. America and Panama held discussions about interning the Panamanian Japanese in the case that war would break out. Panama told America, that if war were to break out, that they would be more than willing to give their Japanese immigrants to America for internment. The plans established between the United States and Panama were the guidelines for establishing plans for internment between the United States and other Central American and South American countries.
The plans for the internment of Japanese and other Axis nationals were laid out during the Emergency Advisory Committee for Political Defense in Rio de Janeiro on Janurary 1942. This meeting consisted of the U.S. foreign ministers of countries in South America and Central America. The United States expressed their desire to the countries of their desire to intern who they considered "dangerous Axis nationals" at the conference. The United States assured the countries that shipping facilities and interning facilities will all be paid for by the United States.
America had two reasons for wanting to intern the Latin American Japanese. First, by containing all of the Japanese in the western hemisphere, in America's mind, this would eliminate the threat of attack at their home. Second, America obtained the Latin American Japanese so that they could use them in exchange for Americans held captive by the Japanese. America justified using the Latin American Japanese for exchange because they were considered illegal aliens in the United States, eventhough they all arrived in America involuntarily. Since they were all considered illegal aliens, the interned Latin American Japanese were always subject to deportation. So exchanging them with the Japanese for Americans would be in their technical legal boundaries.
Aerial view of Crystal
City Internment Camp
(www.foitimes.com/internment/cc_tx.htm)
This exhibit was researched and designed by Alexis Frances Murono.
Background: (memory.loc.gov/ammen/ndlpedu/lessons/99/fear/interview.html)
This exhibit and museum
were created during an introductory seminar on the Asia-Pacific War, taught
at Wake Forest University during the
spring semester 2002.
The material and opinions are those of their respective authors and do not represent the views of the University or the Department of History.