Senator blocks bill to make incarceration camp a historic site

Republican Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is standing in the way of a bill to designate the site of an incarceration camp that imprisoned Japanese Americans during WWII a national historic site.

E&E News reports Lee blocked a request to pass the bill to establish the Amache National Historic Site in the State of Colorado as a unit of the National Park System by unanimous consent.

Janessa Goldbeck of the Vet Voice Foundation described herself as “deeply disappointed that…Lee cares so little about our nation’s history.”

Supporters hope to pass the bill before February 19th in time to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the order by President Franklin Roosevelt that created Camp Amache.

Amache was the smallest of 10 incarceration sites established by Roosevelt’s executive order.

“While these incarceration sites no longer hold prisoners, many of the wrongfully imprisoned are still with us today, even as anti-Asian rhetoric continues to permeate our country,” said Rep Debbie Dingell (D-MI) when she introduced HR 2497 in Congress, according to the congressional record. As we continue to reckon with our Nation’s painful legacy of systemic racism, it is critical that we honor and share the stories of those who came before us. It is vital that we remember and learn from their fights against injustice and for equity.”

Dingell said the government incarcerated 10,000 people of Japanese descent at Amache between 1942 and 45. Two-thirds of those were citizens of the United States. Most have never even been to Japan.

Among them was Bob Fuchigami who was 11 when troops herded his family into Amache.

‘Designating Amache a national park site would shine a light on our forgotten history and help tell a more complete story of America. Amache is our collective story. It is an American story,” he said.

Lee reportedly wants the bill amended, but has not offered any suggestions on what to change nor has he specifically said why he objects to the bill.

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