The Japanese American National Museum has criticized the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump for detaining immigrants lacking permanent legal status at a base where Japanese Americans were interned during World War II.
"It is inconceivable that the United States is once again building concentration camps, denying the lessons learned 80 years ago," Ann Burroughs, who heads the Los Angeles-based museum dedicated to preserving the history of Japanese Americans, said in a statement sent to Jiji Press on Wednesday. She also sent a similar statement to the U.S. television network NBC.
According to U.S. media, the Trump administration on Sunday set up an immigration detention center within the grounds of Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army base in Texas.
The new facility will hold around 1,000 detainees for the time being, with the maximum capacity expected to be expanded to about 5,000 people in the future. Congress had set aside $1.2 billion for the construction of the facility.
During the war, the site was an internment camp for Japanese Americans, as well as German and Italian Americans, who were all treated as enemy aliens.
Those at the camp are said to have lived under heavy surveillance, with the camp surrounded by barbed wires.
"The use of national security rhetoric to justify mass incarceration today echoes the same logic that led to their forced removal and incarceration," Burroughs said.
"We know all too well the devastating consequences of such actions — families torn apart, livelihoods destroyed and the trauma inflicted on a community for generations," she said.
The American Civil Liberties Union said, "Fort Bliss has long been used to carry out government policies rooted in xenophobia and racism.
"We must act now to stop this."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.