BILL ANALYSIS ----------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE COMMITTEE ON RULES |2009-10 Regular | | |Session | ----------------------------------------------------------- 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 Continued SCR 95 Page 2 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 Continued SCR 95 Page 3 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." Continued SCR 95 Page 4 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 Continued SCR 95 Page 5 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 Continued SCR 95 Page 6 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 ***END*** Continued