The Trump administration has, for the fourth time in history, invoked the war-time Alien Enemies Act of 1798, even though our nation is not at war—and its last use remains one of the most shameful episodes in American history.
That involved President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 in 1942. It was the basis for the internment of around 112,000 people of Japanese descent, 70,000 of whom were American citizens.
The Japanese internment should be of particular interest to Southern California readers, as The Orange County Register was the only major West Coast publication to oppose the internment as it was taking place. Other California newspapers have since bemoaned the injustice of incarcerating people based on their ethnicity and stripping them of their property. During the time, however, those newspapers often promoted fear of the Japanese.
