FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CR FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1998 (202) 616-2777
TDD (202) 514-1888 JAPANESE LATIN AMERICANS TO RECEIVE
COMPENSATION FOR INTERNMENT DURING WORLD WAR II WASHINGTON, D.C.
-- Nearly 600 Japanese Latin Americans who were interned during
World War II will each be able to receive $5,000 and an apology
under an agreement reached today with the Justice Department.
Today's agreement resolves a 1996 civil suit filed by five
Japanese Latin Americans who were deported from their homes in
Latin America during World War II and held in internment camps
in the United States. The five, who had been denied redress
under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, claimed that they
deserved to be compensated along with Japanese American
internees during the war. "This was a tragic chapter in the
history of our nation," said Attorney General Janet Reno. "It's
time to right this wrong and close the book." The Civil
Liberties Act, which was signed into law on August 10, 1988,
acknowledges, apologizes, and makes restitution for t