CAPAC Chair Rep. Chu Condemns Support for Japanese American Internment Camps on Fox News

Washington, DC – Today, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) and CAPAC Chair Emeritus Rep. Mike Honda released the following statements condemning a recent panel discussion on Fox News’ Cashin’ In. During the discussion, regular contributor Jonathan Hoenig cited the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as a positive example to be emulated in the use against Muslim Americans.

Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27), CAPAC Chair:

“These remarks are incredibly offensive and beyond the pale of American policy discussions. It is unacceptable that Fox News would give a regular platform to a guest who espouses a historic act so distasteful that it is one of only a handful for which Congress has officially apologized. The Japanese American internment was a shameful act, rooted in hysteria and racism. It was a blatant and tragic violation of civil rights, based on the accusation that there were spies amongst the Japanese Americans living in the United States, an accusation that was later proven untrue. The lesson of the Japanese American internment is a cautionary one, not one we should repeat.

“When the civil liberties of any group are violated, we all suffer. Profiling institutionalizes a culture of not only fear and mistrust, but also of hate. How can citizens trust or cooperate with law enforcement, if they are viewed as the enemy? How can we expect citizens to respect other races, religions, and cultures, if our own government does not? This hypocrisy and injustice simply cannot stand.

“CAPAC has been working with the Department of Justice to prevent the kind of post 9/11 profiling against the Muslim, South Asian, and Sikh communities discussed in this segment. Fox News should not be giving such dangerous voices a national audience.”