CALIFORNIA STATE GOVERNMENT AND INCARCERATION OF JAPANESE AMERICANS DURING WORLD WAR II

Law Enforcement Opinions

Attorney General Earl Warren contacted county officials such as district attorneys, sheriffs, and chiefs of police, requesting their opinions on the presence of "enemy aliens" in their counties.  Warren received responses from many counties, most agreeing that there was significant risk of sabotage and that incarceration was the only solution.

The documents below exemplify the responses from counties.

Opposition

Generally, the public supported exclusion. Letters were sent to Governor Earl Warren on various subjects relating to the Japanese.  Most letters advocated for incarceration, while others advocated for deportation of all Japanese from the United States. Later, there were people who opposed the release of Japanese from the incarceration camps for any reason.  They disapproved of Japanese Americans in the military, and the question of loyalty was a common theme.

Support

However, a small number of people who sent letters to Governor Warren supported the rights of the Japanese. These people argued that the loyalty of the Japanese should not be in question, as they had proved this in many ways.

Japanese Voices

There are also examples of Japanese Americans speaking out against what was happening with poise and understanding. Mike Masaoka, National Secretary of the Japanese American Citizens League, corresponded with several people in State government on behalf of the Japanese American Community.