In an official court document, a senior ICE Official, Robert L. Cerna, recently said this about some of the men the U.S. government has sent to El Salvador on suspicion of being connected to a Venezuelan gang: “The lack of a criminal record does not indicate they pose a limited threat. In fact, based upon their association with TdA, the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose” (Declaration of Robert. L. Cerna, 2025).
I had intended to talk about the importance of autobiographies and memoirs when discussing history today, but this development caught my eye because it reminded me of something I had learned when reading George Takei’s graphic novel They Called Us Enemy, which talks about his experience of being moved to and living in an internment camp during World War 2 due to his Japanese heritage.
So, we know how the Alien Enemies Act—which is currently being invoked by the United States—set a legal precedent that allowed the unjust internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. Mr. Takei also opened my eyes to the involvement of Earl Warren, a leader who went on to become Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. Warren expressed, in an official testimony following Pearl Harbor, that: “The only reason that there has been no sabotage or espionage on the part of Japanese-Americans is that they are waiting for the right moment to strike.” (This phrase is often used as a succinct summary of the ideas he promoted).
This sounds very familiar. Basically, there is no evidence that these citizens have done anything wrong, and that is evidence that they are planning something big. I learned that much of the rhetoric surrounding the interment of Japanese and Japanese-Americans hinged on racial stereotypes. Harmful assumptions surrounding Japanese heritage and culture provided an excuse for persecution.
In 1977, Warren wrote, “I have since deeply regretted the removal order and my own testimony advocating it, because it was not in keeping with our American concept of freedom and the rights of citizens” (Earl Warren, n.d.).
Mr. Takei is not only a celebrated actor—probably best known for his role in Star Trek—but also an incredible author. In this graphic novel, he tells a powerful story about a very dark chapter in American history. There’s another point from this book that is very relevant right now, and I plan to discuss that in my next video.
Bibliography:
Earl Warren. (n.d.). Supreme Court Historical Society. https://civics.supremecourthistory.org/article/earl-warren.
Declaration of Robert. L. Cerna. (2025, March 17). United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Retrieved from https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.278436/gov.uscourts.dcd.278436.26.1_1.pdf.
Takei, George. (2020). They Called Us Enemy. Top Shelf Productions.
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