WASHINGTON – The congressman returned home last Fourth of July to startling stories in Southern California as immigration patrols swept through communities and one constituent told him about starting to carry a passport as proof of the right to be in the country.
Rep. Mark Takano, whose American-born parents were both incarcerated as young children with their families during the forced relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II, could not help but see the parallels between that chapter of American history and this one.
“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,” he told The Associated Press in an interview.
“They’re put into these incarceration camps,” he said. “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.”
Echoes of History in Immigration Policy
President Donald Trump’s campaign promise of the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history is at an inflection point. Americans are witnessing the realities of rounding up, detaining, and deporting thousands of individuals, particularly in the aftermath of high-profile incidents involving U.S. citizens protesting in Minneapolis.
In response to growing scrutiny, the White House has shifted leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, with new Secretary Markwayne Mullin asserting a desire to keep the department off the front pages.
However, Trump faces increasing pressure from conservative groups to maintain the goal of deporting 1 million individuals annually. Congressional allies are backing these immigration and deportation initiatives with significant funding.
Drawing from Personal History
Takano, who serves as the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, leverages his family’s harrowing past to challenge the current administration’s approach to immigration.
“We look back on that era of history as a shameful one, as a time when our political leaders failed the Constitution, failed the American people,” he said.
A Family Legacy
Before entering politics, Takano was a high school history teacher, deeply connected to his family’s narrative. His grandfather, Isao Takano, immigrated from Hiroshima and married Kazue Takahashi, a U.S.-born citizen. They established a life in Bellevue, Washington, cultivating various crops for the Seattle market.
Following the U.S. entry into World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Isao and Kazue, along with 120,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry, were forcibly relocated to internment camps.
His father, William, was only 2 years old when his family was sent to the Tule Lake incarceration camp, while his mother, Nancy Tsugiye Sakamoto, had just turned 1 when her family was relocated to Heart Mountain, Wyoming.
Takano emphasizes that, similar to past injustices, individuals today are being swept up in anti-immigrant detentions.
“Will Americans generations from now visit Alligator Alcatraz and think to themselves, How could our government do this?” Takano asked during a House floor speech, highlighting the Trump-era immigration detention facility in Florida.
Seeking Redress and Reflection
Takano recalls his own experiences visiting the land once owned by his family and learning about his great uncles who bravely served in the Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II. One of his uncles lost his life in combat in Italy.
He remembers his father actively participating in the national redress campaign, which sought acknowledgment for the injustices faced by Japanese Americans.
In 1988, Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act, which aimed to apologize for the “grave injustice” inflicted upon Japanese Americans and provided $20,000 to each detainment survivor. This pivotal act was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.
Takano’s parents received letters of apology and compensation as part of this redress initiative.
Looking Towards the Future
Discussions are currently underway in Congress regarding a potential redress bill for those affected by the aggressive immigration enforcement actions of the Trump administration.
“Remarkably the country did come to realize the mistake,” Takano reflected. “I believe we’re living through one of those eras of mistakes, and I believe we can come out of this moment stronger.”
