BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SCR 95|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 95
Author: Simitian (D), et al
Amended: 6/17/10
Vote: 21
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/23/10
AYES: Steinberg, Aanestad, Cedillo, Dutton
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza
SUBJECT : World War II: Italian Americans
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution sets forth the Legislatures
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 : Background
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
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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 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.
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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 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 or, 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
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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 "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."
California's recognition of Italian Americans
The California Legislature 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
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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.
HR 14 (Mazzoni) of 1999, extended indefinitely the
California Italian-American Task Force.
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.
AB 390 (Canciamilla), 2005-06 Session, provided that the
State 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,
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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 vetoed 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 social science textbooks during
the revision process for those textbooks.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
DLW:nl 6/23/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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