BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE COMMITTEE ON RULES |2009-10 Regular |
| |Session |
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SENATOR DARRELL STEINBERG , CHAIRMAN
Fiscal: No
Hearing: June 23, 2010
Urgency: No
BILL NO: SCR 95
AUTHOR: Simitian
AMENDED: 6/17/10
SUBJECT : World War II: Italian Americans
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution sets forth the Legislature's formal
acknowledgement that the treatment of Italian Americans during
World War II represented a fundamental injustice against Italian
Americans, its deepest regrets of these acts, and its
reaffirmation of a commitment to preserving the rights of all
people and celebrating their contributions.
ANALYSIS :
Within hours of the declaration of war on Japan on December 7,
1941, President Roosevelt issued Proclamation 2525, aimed at
aliens with roots in that nation. All natives, citizens,
denizens, or subjects of Japan fourteen years of age or over who
were in the United States and not naturalized had become enemy
aliens, subject to all regulations concerning such individuals,
including the immediate apprehension of those determined
dangerous by the Attorney General or Secretary of War. The
following day, December 8, 1941, two more proclamations,
Proclamations 2526 and 2527, were issued to cover German and
Italian aliens.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation began arresting aliens on
lists developed by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the War
Department prior to December 7, including permanent resident
aliens of Italian descent on the evening of December 7. Prior
to these proclamations, the President implemented, "The Alien
Enemy Act of 1798" which granted broad powers to deal with enemy
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aliens during wartime. Under the Act, as amended during World
War I, the President can limit the activities of every enemy
alien by imposing travel and curfew restrictions and also
deprive aliens from access to and the possession of firearms,
cameras, and radios. On January 14, 1942, the President issued
supplemental restrictions requiring these individuals to apply
for, to acquire and to carry at all times certificates of
identification. On February 19, 1942, the President signed
Executive Order 9066, giving the Secretary of War and military
commander to whom he delegated authority, the power to exclude
any and all persons, both citizens and aliens, from designated
"military areas" to ensure security against sabotage and
espionage. It authorized the Secretary of War to take any other
steps deemed appropriate to enforce compliance with the
restrictions applicable to each military area. Public Law
77-503 was enacted which provided criminal penalties for
violations of the military proclamations issued pursuant to
Executive Order 9066. It has been estimated that about 600,000
Italian born immigrants were restricted during the war. Ten
thousand on the West Coast were forced to leave their homes and
prohibited from entering coastal zones and more than 50,000 were
subjected to curfews. In recognition of the fact that Italian
immigrants and citizens were loyal to the United States, the
enemy restrictions were lifted for those of Italian ancestry on
October 12, 1942.
In November of 2000, the "Wartime Violation of Italian American
Civil Liberties Act" was enacted. This law, in part directed
the U.S. Attorney General, to conduct a comprehensive review of
the treatment by the U.S. Government of Italian Americans during
World War II, and to report on the findings within a year. The
Attorney General submitted the report, "A review of the
Restrictions on Persons of Italian Ancestry During World War
II," to the U.S. Congress on November 7, 2001, and the House
Judiciary Committee released it to the public on November 27,
2001. The report, covering the period September 1, 1939, to
December 31, 1945, describes the authority under which the
United States undertook enforcement of wartime restrictions on
Italian Americans and detailed these restrictions. In addition,
the report provided 11 lists, most of which included the names
of those most directly affected by the war time restrictions.
The lists include:
1. The names of 74 persons of Italian ancestry, taken into
custody in the initial roundup following the attack on Pearl
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Harbor and prior to the United States declaration of war
against Italy.
2. The names of 1,881 other persons of Italian ancestry who were
taken into custody.
3. The names and location of 418 persons of Italian ancestry who
were interned.
4. The names of 47 persons of Italian ancestry ordered to move
from designated areas under the Individual Exclusion Program,
and an additional 12 who appeared before the Individual
Exclusion Board.
5. The names of 56 persons of Italian ancestry not subject to
individual exclusion orders who were ordered to temporarily
be moved from designated areas.
6. The names of 442 persons of Italian ancestry for curfew,
contraband, or other violations.
7. A list of 33 ports from which fishermen of Italian ancestry
were restricted.
8. The names of 315 fishermen of Italian ancestry who were
prevented from fishing in prohibited zones.
9. The names of two person of Italian ancestry whose boats were
confiscated.
10.A list of 12 railroad workers of Italian ancestry prevented
from working in prohibited zones, of which only four are
named.
11.A list of six wartime time restrictions on person of Italian
ancestry resulting specifically from Executive Order 9066.
The findings of the report stated "The impact of the wartime
experience was devastating to Italian American communities in
the United States, and the effects are still being felt. A
deliberate policy kept these measures from the public during
war. Even 50 years later much information is still classified,
the full story remains unknown to the public, and it has never
been acknowledged in any official capacity by the United States
Government."
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California's recognition of Italian Americans
The California Legislative over the years have passed
resolutions commending Italian Americans. HR 84 (Cortese), of
1996, created the "California Italian-American Task Force" which
is an advisory body to the Assembly on Italian American
concerns, was created to document the achievements and
contributions of Italian-Americans throughout California's
history and development. It had a sunset date of September 20,
1999, and through the passage of HR 14 (Mazzoni) was made
permanent. Legislation has also been introduced in the past to
encourage the schools to incorporate into their curriculum the
history of the restrictions placed on Italian Americans during
the war. In addition, the California State Capitol Rotunda has
had the exhibit "Una Storia Segreta - The Secret Story"
displayed several times.
Prior Legislation
SCR 24 (Roberti), Resolution Chapter 82, Statutes of 1993,
designated October as Italian-American History Month.
ACR 127 (Cortese), Resolution Chapter 117, Statutes of 1994
welcomed the exhibit "Una Storia Segreta - The Secret Story" to
the State Capitol, recognized the events of 1942 which impacted
Italian Americans, encouraged the inclusion of the Italian
American experience in the public schools and Universities in
California, study the feasibility of establishing an Italian
American Museum, and encouraged the creation of a task force.
HR 84 (Cortese) of 1995, created the Italian-American Task Force
as an advisory body to the State Assembly until September 1999.
ACR 183 (Torlakson) Resolution Chapter 183, Statutes of 1998,
which designated the second week of October of every year as
Italian-American Wartime Remembrance Week" and recognized the
exhibit of "Una Stori Segeta" being displayed in the Capitol in
1998.
HR 14 (Mazzoni) of 1999, extended indefinitely the California
Italian-American Task Force.
AB 390 (Canciamilla), 2005-06 Session, provided that the State
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Board of Education, at the next revision of curriculum
frameworks in social science to include the role and
contribution of Italian American to the economic, political, and
social development of California and the United States. This
bill died on the Assembly Floor.
ACR 185 (Portantino), Resolution Chapter 125, Statutes of 2008,
designated the month of October as Italian American Heritage
Month and encouraged public schools to highlight Italian
American achievements and contributions to the culture of
California, and to take steps to promote the inclusion of the
achievements and contributions of Italian Americans to U.S. and
California history in elementary and secondary textbooks during
the revision process for those textbooks.
AB 1863 (Portantino), 2007-08 Session, expressed the
encouragement of the Legislature for schools to include the role
and contribution of Italian Americans to the economic, political
and social development of California and the U.S. in the
instruction of social science; and encouraged the State School
Board of Education to include the role and contribution of
Italian Americans to the economic, political, and social
development of California and the U.S. in the social science
curriculum frameworks at the next revision of those frameworks.
It was vroted by the Governor with the following message:
"While I respect the author's intent to recognize the role of
Italian Americans in California and the United States history, I
have consistently vetoed legislation that has attempted to
include specific details or events into areas of instruction.
The State Board of Education adopted content standards that are
developed by a diverse group of experts and are intentionally
broad in order to allow coverage of various events,
developments, and issues. I continue to believe that the State
should establish rigorous academic standard and frameworks, but
refrain from being overly prescriptive in specific school
curriculum."
ACR 89 (Galgiani), Resolution Chapter 113, Statutes of 2009,
designated the month of October 2009, and every October
thereafter, as Italian American Heritage Month. It encourages
public schools to highlight and include Italian American
achievements and contributions to the culture of California and
to take steps to promote the inclusion of the role and
contributions of Italian Americans to the culture and history of
California and the United States in elementary and secondary
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social science textbooks during the revision process for those
textbooks.
SUPPORT: (Verified on 06/22/10)
Chet Campanella (individual)
Italian Heritage Commission
OPPOSITION: (Verified on 06/22/10)
None received.
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE: Sandy Wood/651-4153
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