“Burn Order,” a special two-hour program on MS NOW (formerly MS-NBC) presented by Rachel Maddow, aired recently to a national television audience.
The program traced the events leading up to Executive Order 9066 and the subsequent mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and explored the parallels to the current ongoing mass incarceration and deportation of immigrants without due process.
Amy Oba, 33, a member of Nikkei Progressives (NP), was a panelist and was introduced by Maddow, who noted that NP is a grassroots community group that is on the ground, organizing and educating the community about threats to immigrant rights and to democracy.
Maddow asked Oba, “How do the Peace Patrols work?”
Oba explained, “There’s just a group of us that regularly drive around our community looking for ICE activity. We started organizing when Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act earlier this year. We got together as many community organizations as we could… we started with ‘Know Your Rights’ trainings and Red Cards distribution.
“When ICE is in the community, we’re letting everybody know. And it really does matter because when people are arrested by ICE, it is like they’re kidnapped. They really can just disappear for days … for weeks. ICE won’t have them in their system.
“We know of a family right now, it’s been eight weeks. Family members started to believe that [the detainee] is dead because ICE won’t provide any information as to where they are or what happened to them. So [as a person is being taken away] just getting a name is helpful so the family can know and the immigration lawyer can know where to look for people.”
Maddow then asked, “Does your family history inform the way that you think about this work now?”
Oba provided a thoughtful response: “Yes it does. And I also think that my community’s history informs the way that I work as well. So, when JAs were fighting for redress, they weren’t fighting alone. We actually had Rep. [Mervyn] Dymally approach our community and offer the Congressional Black Caucus’ support through Congress for the bills … This is the kind of support that was instrumental in getting those bills passed for us.
“And so I feel the JA community has an obligation to stand in solidarity with other communities. We believe that the Latino community right now is where the JA community was 80 years ago and it’s our turn to be in solidarity.
“My own family history also drives my work. My grandparents were both at Heart Mountain, Wyoming … My father remembers hearing that my grandfather was a no-no boy. And for those of you who don’t know, JAs were given a loyalty questionnaire … and the people who said ‘NO, I will not swear loyalty to the U.S. government and NO, I will not serve in the U.S. military’ were called no-no boys.
“For JAs to serve in the U.S. military when their families were in concentration camps at home — that took a certain type of courage and sacrifice. But I also think it takes a certain type of courage — like my grandfather — to say no.
“For him, it was ‘No — the way I’m being treated is not okay; the way my family and community is being treated right now is not okay.’ And I think that’s something we need right now in this moment. For more people to say no — the way that immigrant communities are being treated right now is not okay and I’m going to do something about it!”
Maddow then asked, “There has been the perception that older Americans are leading the resistance [against Trump] and that younger people are less involved. Could you talk a bit about whether you feel that younger people are engaged in the fight?”
Oba responded, “We have a lot of people in Nikkei Progressives my age and younger, so it’s really fun to work in an intergenerational organization … I actually think younger folks are pretty involved. I’m thinking about the Palestinian encampments that went up all across the nation on college campuses. Students are incredibly organized and incredibly committed.
“And I think it’s on our political leaders to take the concerns of this generation seriously. Very few politicians, even Democrats, have been willing to speak out against the genocide happening in Gaza. I think the younger generation is taking note and that political leaders need to work harder to incorporate the concerns of this generation.”
Oba was joined on the panel by Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside) and Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo.
In a separate panel, Satsuki Ina of Tsuru for Solidarity, author Frank Abe and attorney Lori Bannai provided thoughtful analysis and personal recollections. (See Rafu Shimpo Dec. 19 issue for details on the podcast and this panel.)
For more information about Nikkei Progressives, email nikkeiprogressives@gmail.com.