IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 144 

Recognizing the importance of establishing a national ‘‘Fred Korematsu Day 

of Civil Liberties and the Constitution’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2017 

Mr. TAKANO (for himself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. AL GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, Ms. HANABUSA, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. LEE, Mr. 

TED LIEU of California, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. MENG, 

Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. PETERS, Ms. SPEIER, and Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the importance of establishing a national ‘‘Fred 

Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution’’. 

Whereas Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu was born on January 

30, 1919, in Oakland, California, to Japanese immigrant 

parents; 

Whereas Fred Korematsu attempted to enlist in the United 

States National Guard and the United States Coast 

Guard after the United States entered World War II and 

was rejected because of his Japanese ancestry; 

Whereas after the signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 

which authorized the forced imprisonment of 120,000 


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•HRES 144 IH 

people of Japanese descent into prison camps, the majority of whom were American citizens, Fred Korematsu resisted that infringement of American civil liberties and 

attempted to continue his life as an American citizen 

until he was arrested, convicted, and incarcerated at a 

concentration camp in Topaz, Utah; 

Whereas, in 1944, Fred Korematsu appealed his case to the 

United States Supreme Court, which ruled against him, 

declaring in Korematsu v. United States that Japanese 

incarceration was a ‘‘military necessity’’ rather than an 

egregious act of racial discrimination; 

Whereas, in 1980, President Jimmy Carter created the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), which concluded in 1983 that the forced 

removal and imprisonment of people of Japanese ancestry 

was motivated by ‘‘race prejudice, war hysteria, and a 

failure of political leadership’’; 

Whereas during this time, researchers at the University of 

California, San Diego uncovered documents from the 

United States Department of Justice in which intelligence agencies, including the FBI, the FCC, and the 

Office of Naval Intelligence, denied that Japanese-Americans ever committed wrongdoing, but which were never 

presented to the United States Supreme Court during 

Korematsu v. United States; 

Whereas following the conclusion of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians and the findings on governmental misconduct, Fred Korematsu reopened his case, and on November 10, 1983, the United 

States District Court of Northern California in San 

Francisco overturned his conviction; 


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•HRES 144 IH 

Whereas Fred Korematsu’s courageously fought injustice by 

challenging the constitutionality of Executive Order 

9066, and his lawsuit remains an important lesson about 

the fragility of individual civil liberties during a time 

when the Nation is experiencing threats to its national 

security; 

Whereas Fred Korematsu continued to fight injustice and defend the liberties of Muslim people when, in 2003, he 

warned in an amicus brief that the United States extreme national security measures following the terrorist 

attacks of September 11, 2001, were reminiscent of the 

mistakes of the past that undermined American civil liberties, including the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, the 

suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War, the 

prosecution of dissenters during World War I, the Red 

Scare of 1919–1920, the interment of people of Japanese 

descent during World War II, and the era of loyalty 

oaths and McCarthyism during the Cold War; 

Whereas the United States is once again threatening American civil liberties in violation of the Constitution as a 

disproportionate reaction to the state of our national security; 

Whereas the democratic character of the American people will 

be nourished and enhanced by opportunities for civic education on the significant challenges that have been posed 

to our Constitution; 

Whereas a day of annual national reflection on how the Fred 

Korematsu quest for justice is important to educating the 

American people about preserving civil liberties and the 

principle of equality before the law; and 


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Whereas the States of California, Hawaii, Virginia, and Florida have already designated January 30 as Fred 

Korematsu Day to commemorate his lifelong fight for 

civil liberties and the Constitution: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes the importance of establishing a 

3 national ‘‘Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties 

4 and the Constitution’’; and 

5 (2) encourages all people to reflect on the im6 portance of political leadership and vigilance and on 

7 the values of justice and civil rights during times of 

8 uncertainty and emergency. 

Æ 


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