Source: The Argus

On March 23, 2003 The Argus reported that "Japanese-American civil rights groups are joining Muslim and interfaith groups outraged over new wartime security measures calling for Arab immigrants seeking political asylum in the United States to be locked up until the government can verify their reasons for coming here... Officials with the Department of Homeland Security say the measures announced last week also are being taken to 'advise members of the Iraqi community of the FBI's responsibilities in protecting them from hate crimes...' This reasoning is all too familiar for members of the Japanese-American community, who were told in the 1940s they were put in internment camps for their own protection... 'As one segment of the population that has gone through this before, we are determined that it won't happen again,' said John Tateishi, national director of the league... He said the new laws that have been passed in the wake of Sept. 11 -- including the USA Patriot Act and the special registration for men from Arab countries -- are more dangerous and far-reaching than the internment during World War II."