U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Mazie Hirono, along with U.S. Representative Mark Takano, have reintroduced a bill to prohibit imprisonment of American citizens based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability days, reports CNN.
According to a statement on Sen. Duckworth’s website, the Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2019 “would be a first step toward safeguarding vital freedoms that protect Americans from arbitrary detention with no due process.”
Named in honor of the late U.S. Rep Mark Takai and Fred Korematsu, a civil rights activist convicted for denying relocation orders, the act works against the historic case that justified the forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
The bill — H.R.4680 —was initially proposed in December 2017, but failed to pass committee. Section 2 of the 2017 legislation referenced President Donald Trump’s policies and actions targeting individuals based on identity, such as the previous travel ban toward individuals from specific nationalities and religious backgrounds.
Sens. Duckworth and Hirono, and Rep. Takano, re-introduced this 2019 legislation a week before the Day of Remembrance, February 19, which marks the day in 1942 when Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that sent over 120,000 Japanese Americans to U.S. concentration camps.
The co-sponsors of the Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2019 include U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
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