September 1989

              Justice  Delayed  is  Justice  Denied
Dear  President   Bush:
In your campaign for the presidency,  you  stated your  wholehearted  support  of an  official
apology and redress payments  to
the  surviving  Japanese  American
internees of World War II.
We are fully aware of the huge
deficit  in the national  budget,
and   sincerely   sympathize   with
the  great domestic  and international problems that you are facing.
We wish to point out that this is
a debt of honor—a solemn promise made by the government of
the United States to redress the
unconstitutional  wrong  of evacuation  and  internment of American
citizens  and legal  residents  of
Japanese   ancestry.
We ask you to carry out the intent of the Civil Liberties Act of
1988.    We ask you to restore our
faith in our democratic form of
government.    We ask you to see
what the government of Canada
did in paying  off her internees.
We ask you to set an example to
the rest of the world that our government  keeps   its  promises.
Sincerely,
Fred  Y. Hirasuna
This ALERT is being sent to
members of the Civil Rights and
Religious  Liberties  network who
reside in states  with Senators on
the   Appropriations   subcommittee
on Commerce, Justice, State and
the   Judiciary.
1.)    Make an appointment during the August recess with your
Senator at the local office, urging
a vote for the highest possible
level of funding for redress.
2.) Write a short, personal letter to your Senator with the same
message.
NATIONAL IMPACT
We are all disheartened by the fact that a year has passed since the
redress legislation was enacted and no funding has yet been provided
for payments of apology.    The ORA has estimated that eligible
individuals are dying at the rate of 200 per month.    This is one of the
most persuasive arguments we have with Congress for the need to
raise  the  level  of funding  substantially.
Statistics are important, but we need to put names on the numbers.
We want to present a list of people who passed away before the
government's promise to them for redress was kept.    Congress
intended the  internees  themselves  to  be  compensated.
In early discussions with Congressional staff, this project was
tentatively titled,  "The List of Shame," to express how shameful it is
for our nation that the delay in implementing the law now compounds
the violation of constitutional rights that the Civil Liberties Act of
1988 was intended to redress.    After talking with more people, it was
decided to change the name to "Justice Denied," using the phrase
which has become identified with the redress campaign.    It also
clearly makes the point that for those whose names are put on the
list, justice  delayed  is  indeed justice  denied.
The list will be used to help bring home this point with Congress
through news releases,  speeches,  statements in the House and Senate,
and information sent to members of Congress about persons in their
district.    The more complete this list is, the more powerful our
statement  will  be.
If you have any information about persons who have died since
August  10,  1988 when the redress law was signed by President
Reagan, please use the form on the following page and send it to the
JACL-LEC office.
Regulations  Continued...
from   page 5
fewer than 100 phone calls so far.
Most of the callers have been worried about not having the official
documents requested.    ORA has
assured them that  the  examples
given for each item are just that—
examples.    The list is not meant
to  be  exhaustive.
ORA is awaiting funding for redress payments.     Until funds are
appropriated by Congress,  ORA
cannot notify anyone of their eligibility.    "We have to have money
in the bank, so to speak, first,"
said Bratt,  "before we can promise anyone a check by sending
them an official  letter of eligibil-
ty."    Eligibility reviews will be
conducted by age from eldest to
youngest,   reflecting  the  payment
order  stipulated  by the  Civil
Liberties   Act.
ORA was able to accommodate
requests   asking  that   documentation, required by the office to
verify  a  potential   recipient's
identity, be eased.    "We know that
the burden is on the government
to  establish  eligibility  and  we
take   that   responsibility   seriously,"  explained Bob Bratt, Administrator for Redress.     "At the
same time, we must make absolutely   certain  that  redress   payments go to the right person...For
that reason, we proposed some
pretty   stringent   documentation
requirements   to   establish   identities.    But we were persuaded by
the comments.    We've changed the
documentation   requirements   significantly,   and   simplified  the
process."
Under the initially proposed
regulations,   individuals   were   required  to  submit original  documents,   including   photograph
identification.     Now,   individuals
are to  send notarized photocopies.
The Redress Monitor, September 1989