You didn’t see much Asian American history over the Presidents Day Weekend. There was Russell Simmons’ unifying “# I am a Muslim Too” rally in Times Square. And the president’s aides leaked out another version of the travel ban.
Yet there was hardly any mention in the news of Asian Americans of Japanese descent gathering all over the country in “Day of Remembrance” services.
The mainstream media mostly forgot that Feb.19 was the 75th anniversary of another important presidential executive order: President Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the roundup and incarceration of 120,000 of Japanese ancestry. More than 70,000 of them were American citizens.
Never before has the history of that day been so important, as we contemplate what will be in the “new and improved” travel ban.
Late on Sunday, Trump aides leaked to news organizations a draft of a new ban that targets the same seven countries — Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya. It also exempted travelers who have visas to travel to the U.S., as well as dual citizens. The draft also no longer singles out Syrian refugees in the processing of new visas.
Whether Trump aides learned from the 9th Circuit Court’s recent rebuke, and tailored the wording to meet the law, is yet to be seen. The draft remains subject to change.
But history does not.
