To apologize for the treatment of Italian Americans during World War II.

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3914 To apologize for the treatment of Italian Americans during World War II. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 23, 2019 Ms. LOFGREN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To apologize for the treatment of Italian Americans during World War II. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. APOLOGY FOR THE TREATMENT OF ITALIAN 3 AMERICANS DURING WORLD WAR II. 4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Over 15 million Italians have immigrated to 6 the United States since 1852. 7 (2) Italian immigrants have provided a culture 8 and heritage that has enriched American life. 9 (3) The treatment of Italian Americans during 10 World War II was authorized by the Act of July 6, 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3914.IH H3914 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3914 IH 1798 (Chapter 66, Sec. 1; 1 Stat. 577; 50 U.S.C. 1 21; commonly known as the Alien Enemies Act). 2 (4) Additional authority for the treatment of 3 Italian Americans during World War II was based 4 on Executive Order 9066 (7 Fed. Reg. 1407) and 5 Executive Order 9102 (7 Fed. Reg. 2165). 6 (5) These orders required Italian-born citizens 7 and their families to carry identification cards, face 8 travel restrictions, and obey curfews. 9 (6) These orders authorized the seizure of per- 10 sonal property. 11 (7) 10,000 Italian Americans living on the West 12 Coast were forced to leave their homes and were 13 prohibited from entering coastal zones during World 14 War II. 15 (8) Thousands of Italian-American immigrants 16 were arrested and hundreds were interned in mili- 17 tary camps during World War II. 18 (9) The treatment of Italian Americans during 19 World War II needs to be acknowledged in order to 20 remember those whose lives were unjustly disrupted 21 and whose freedoms were violated. 22 (10) Acknowledging and apologizing for the 23 treatment of Italian Americans during World War II 24 would help repair the Italian-American community 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3914.IH H3914 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3914 IH and would discourage the occurrence of similar in- 1 justices and violations of civil liberties in the future. 2 (b) STATEMENT OF CONGRESS.—For these funda- 3 mental violations of the basic civil liberties and constitu- 4 tional rights of Italian Americans during World War II, 5 Congress apologizes on behalf of the Nation. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3914.IH H3914 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS