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106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1909

To provide for the preparation of a Government report detailing injustices

suffered by Italian Americans during World War II, and a formal acknowledgment of such injustices by the President.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 10, 1999

Mr. TORRICELLI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To provide for the preparation of a Government report detailing injustices suffered by Italian Americans during World

War II, and a formal acknowledgment of such injustices

by the President.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wartime Violation of

5 Italian American Civil Liberties Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) The freedom of more than 600,000 Italian2 born immigrants in the United States and their fam3 ilies was restricted during World War II by Govern4 ment measures that branded them ‘‘enemy aliens’’

5 and included carrying identification cards, travel re6 strictions, and seizure of personal property.

7 (2) During World War II more than 10,000

8 Italian Americans living on the West Coast were

9 forced to leave their homes and prohibited from en10 tering coastal zones. More than 50,000 were sub11 jected to curfews.

12 (3) During World War II thousands of Italian

13 American immigrants were arrested, and hundreds

14 were interned in military camps.

15 (4) Hundreds of thousands of Italian Ameri16 cans performed exemplary service and thousands

17 sacrificed their lives in defense of the United States.

18 (5) At the time, Italians were the largest for19 eign-born group in the United States, and today are

20 the fifth largest immigrant group in the United

21 States, numbering approximately 15,000,000.

22 (6) The impact of the wartime experience was

23 devastating to Italian American communities in the

24 United States, and its effects are still being felt.
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1 (7) A deliberate policy kept these measures

2 from the public during the war. Even 50 years later

3 much information is still classified, the full story re4 mains unknown to the public, and it has never been

5 acknowledged in any official capacity by the United

6 States Government.

7 SEC. 3. REPORT.

8 The Inspector General of the Department of Justice

9 shall conduct a comprehensive review of the treatment by

10 the United States Government of Italian Americans dur11 ing World War II, and not later than 1 year after the

12 date of enactment of this Act shall submit to the Congress

13 a report that documents the findings of such review. The

14 report shall cover the period between September 1, 1939,

15 and December 31, 1945, and shall include the following:

16 (1) The names of all Italian Americans who

17 were taken into custody in the initial roundup fol18 lowing the attack on Pearl Harbor, and prior to the

19 United States declaration of war against Italy.

20 (2) The names of all Italian Americans who

21 were taken into custody.

22 (3) The names of all Italian Americans who

23 were interned and the location where they were in24 terned.
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1 (4) The names of all Italian Americans who

2 were ordered to move out of designated areas under

3 the United States Army’s ‘‘Individual Exclusion

4 Program’’.

5 (5) The names of all Italian Americans who

6 were arrested for curfew, contraband, or other viola7 tions under the authority of Executive Order 9066.

8 (6) Documentation of Federal Bureau of Inves9 tigation raids on the homes of Italian Americans.

10 (7) A list of ports from which Italian American

11 fishermen were restricted.

12 (8) The names of Italian American fishermen

13 who were prevented from fishing in prohibited zones

14 and therefore unable to pursue their livelihoods.

15 (9) The names of Italian Americans whose

16 boats were confiscated.

17 (10) The names of Italian American railroad

18 workers who were prevented from working in prohib19 ited zones.

20 (11) A list of all civil liberties infringements

21 suffered by Italian Americans during World War II,

22 as a result of Executive Order 9066, including in23 ternment, hearings without benefit of counsel, illegal

24 searches and seizures, travel restrictions, enemy

25 alien registration requirements, employment restric-
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1 tions, confiscation of property, and forced evacuation

2 from homes.

3 (12) An explanation of why some Italian Ameri4 cans were subjected to civil liberties infringements,

5 as a result of Executive Order 9066, while other

6 Italian Americans were not.

7 (13) A review of the wartime restrictions on

8 Italian Americans to determine how civil liberties

9 can be better protected during national emergencies.

10 SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

11 It is the sense of the Congress that—

12 (1) the story of the treatment of Italian Ameri13 cans during World War II needs to be told in order

14 to acknowledge that these events happened, to re15 member those whose lives were unjustly disrupted

16 and whose freedoms were violated, to help repair the

17 damage to the Italian American community, and to

18 discourage the occurrence of similar injustices and

19 violations of civil liberties in the future;

20 (2) Federal agencies, including the Department

21 of Education and the National Endowment for the

22 Humanities, should support projects such as—

23 (A) conferences, seminars, and lectures to

24 heighten awareness of this unfortunate chapter

25 in our Nation’s history;
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1 (B) the refurbishment of and payment of

2 all expenses associated with the traveling ex3 hibit ‘‘Una Storia Segreta’’, exhibited at major

4 cultural and educational institutions throughout

5 the United States; and

6 (C) documentaries to allow this issue to be

7 presented to the American public to raise its

8 awareness;

9 (3) an independent, volunteer advisory com10 mittee should be established comprised of represent11 atives of Italian American organizations, historians,

12 and other interested individuals to assist in the com13 pilation, research, and dissemination of information

14 concerning the treatment of Italian Americans; and

15 (4) after completion of the report required by

16 this Act, financial support should be provided for the

17 education of the American public through the pro18 duction of a documentary film suited for public

19 broadcast.

20 SEC. 5. FORMAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

21 The United States Government formally acknowl22 edges that these events during World War II represented

23 a fundamental injustice against Italian Americans.

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