Lawmaker Sees WWII Japanese Detention in Today’s Raids
WASHINGTON — Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) is drawing a direct line between the incarceration of his own parents as infants during World War II and the immigration enforcement raids sweeping the country under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Speaking to the Associated Press, Takano warned that history may be repeating itself.
“I do feel like there’s a similarity of circumstance of my own 2-year-old father and my 1-year-old mother being labeled as enemy aliens and they’re considered a danger to national security,” Takano said. “They’re put into these incarceration camps. Similar arguments have been made by this administration — that immigrants pose a grave danger to our country and it’s for the security of our country that we’re doing this.”
A Family History of Incarceration
Takano’s father, William, was just 2 years old when his family was sent in 1942 to the Tule Lake incarceration camp in California. His mother, Nancy Tsugiye Sakamoto, was 1 year old when she was relocated to the Heart Mountain detention facility in Wyoming. Both were American-born citizens.
His grandfather, Isao Takano, immigrated from Hiroshima and married Kazue Takahashi, a U.S.-born citizen. Together they built a farm in Bellevue, Washington, growing tomatoes, strawberries, and chrysanthemums — a life upended when Executive Order 9066 authorized the forced relocation of approximately 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens.
Takano’s great uncles served in the Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the all-Japanese American unit that became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service. One was killed in action in Italy.
According to his official biography, Takano was elected to Congress in 2012, becoming the first openly gay person of color to serve in the U.S. House. He now serves as Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Echoes of History in Trump’s Immigration Sweeps
President Trump’s second term has been defined by what he has called the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. ICE raids have intensified nationwide, particularly after the deaths of two U.S. citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — during enforcement actions in Minneapolis earlier this year.
The White House recently changed leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem with Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who has promised to keep the department off the front pages while continuing enforcement. The Washington Post reported that Mullin’s call for quieter enforcement has alarmed the administration’s MAGA base, while conservative groups continue to pressure the administration to deport 1 million people per year.
Takano specifically referenced the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility in the Florida Everglades — a Trump-era immigration detention center — during a House floor speech. “Will Americans generations from now visit Alligator Alcatraz and think to themselves, How could our government do this?” he asked. “These future generations of Americans will look to us, the Congress, to see what we did to try to stop it.”
The PBS NewsHour has reported that the facility, built on an isolated airstrip about 50 miles west of Miami, can house up to 5,000 detainees and has drawn protests over its impact on the delicate Everglades ecosystem.
A Reagan-Era Law as a Model for Redress
Takano points to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, signed by President Ronald Reagan, which formally apologized for the “grave injustice” of Japanese American incarceration and provided $20,000 in reparations to each surviving detainee. His parents received both a letter of apology and a payment.
Talks are reportedly underway among some members of Congress for a similar redress program for people affected by Trump’s immigration enforcement operations — those who have had their car windows smashed, their homes raided, and their livelihoods upended.
“Remarkably the country did come to realize the mistake,” Takano told the AP. “I believe we’re living through one of those eras of mistakes and I believe we can come out of this moment stronger.”
Analysis and Implications
Takano’s critique carries unique weight given his family’s direct experience with one of the most widely acknowledged civil liberties failures in American history. The comparison invites Americans to consider whether current policies will be judged as harshly by future generations as Japanese American incarceration is today.
New research published by Forbes has found that ICE raids harm local economies by reducing consumer spending, with foot traffic falling 2.7% and spending declining 6.2% per point of interest per week in areas with heavy enforcement activity. The study’s author, UPENN Wharton professor Zeke Hernandez, described the impact as “widespread, indiscriminate, and persistent.”
What’s Next
As Congress debates additional funding for immigration enforcement — including approximately $70 billion in a forthcoming reconciliation bill — Takano’s voice adds a powerful historical dimension to the conversation. The question remains whether the nation will look back on this era, as it did on the incarceration of Japanese Americans, and conclude that political leaders failed the Constitution and the American people.”