Executive Order 9066 United States Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by the United States President Franklin D . Roosevelt on February 19 , 1942 , authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones . Eventually , EO 9066 cleared the way for the deportation of Japanese Americans to internment camps . The executive order was spurred by a combination of war hysteria and reactions to the Niihau Incident . Now , therefore , by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States , and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy , I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War , and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate , whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable , to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine , from which any or all persons may be excluded , and with respect to which , the right of any person to enter , remain in , or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion . The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom , such transportation , food , shelter , and other accommodations as may be necessary , in the judgment of the Secretary of War or the said Military Commander , and until other arrangements are made , to accomplish the purpose of this order . The designation of military areas in any region or locality shall supersede designations of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8 , 1941 , and shall supersede the responsibility and authority of the Attorney General under the said Proclamations in respect of such prohibited and restricted areas . Americans of Italian and German ancestry were also targeted by these restrictions , including internment . 11 , 000 people of German ancestry were interned , as were 3 , 000 people of Italian ancestry , along with some Jewish refugees . The interned Jewish refugees came from Germany , as the U . S . government did not differentiate between ethnic Jews and ethnic Germans ( Jewish was defined as a religious practice ) . Some of the internees of European descent were interned only briefly , while others were held for several years beyond the end of the war . Like the Japanese internees , these smaller groups had American - born citizens in their numbers , especially among the children . A few members of ethnicities of other Axis countries were interned , but exact numbers are unknown . Secretary of War Henry L . Stimson was responsible for assisting relocated people with transport , food , shelter , and other accommodations . Post - World War II . Executive Order 9066 was rescinded by Gerald Ford on February 19 , 1976 . In 1980 , Jimmy Carter signed legislation to create the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians ( CWRIC ) . The CWRIC was appointed to conduct an official governmental study of Executive Order 9066 , related wartime orders , and their impact on Japanese Americans in the West and Alaska Natives in the Pribilof Islands . In December 1982 , the CWRIC issued its findings in " Personal Justice Denied " , concluding that the incarceration of Japanese Americans had not been justified by military necessity . The report determined that the decision to incarcerate was based on " race prejudice , war hysteria , and a failure of political leadership " . The Commission recommended legislative remedies consisting of an official Government apology and redress payments of $ 20 , 000 to each of the survivors ; a public education fund was set up to help ensure that this would not happen again ( Public Law 100 - 383 ) . On August 10 , 1988 , the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 , based on the CWRIC recommendations , was signed into law by Ronald Reagan . On November 21 , 1989 , George H . W . Bush signed an appropriation bill authorizing payments to be paid out between 1990 and 1998 . In 1990 , surviving internees began to receive individual redress payments and a letter of apology . This bill only applied to the Japanese Americans . The day the Executive Order was signed is now that of the Day of Remembrance , an annual commemoration of the internments in the Japanese American community .