Jayapal to Introduce Legislation to Stop Trump from Weaponizing WWII-Era Law Against Immigrants

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, will be introducing the No Round Up Act, legislation to repeal the long-dormant immigration law that allowed for Japanese internment during World War II (WWII) as the Trump administration prepares to use it as a means of mass deportation. 

“This policy is associated with some of the most shameful stains on our country’s history, including the reactionary and xenophobic internment of more than 120,000 people of Japanese descent in concentration camps across the United States during WWII, as well as racist and xenophobic profiling in the wake of September 11th,” said Jayapal. “Now, the Trump administration is aiming to use this policy as a tool to force immigrants to register and subject themselves to a mass deportation scheme.”

In addition to Japanese internment, previous attempts to use this registration system have also included the post-September 11th National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS). This action put 13,000 people, largely from Muslim-majority, Arab, African, and South Asian countries, into deportation proceedings but resulted in zero terrorism convictions and was later determined by the Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General to be inefficient and a waste of resources. 

The Trump Administration’s proposed use of this policy would put a target on the backs of immigrants, many of whom are undocumented and have lived in this country for upwards of 16 years as contributing members of our economy and communities.

Individuals who do not register could face fines, jail time, and removal from the country. However, if passed, Jayapal’s legislation would repeal sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act, removing provisions that allow for such a registry.

The bill is sponsored by Judy Chu (CA-28), J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), James P. McGovern (MA-02), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Adam Smith (WA-09), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Juan Vargas (CA-52), and Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07).

It is also endorsed by 18 Million Rising; Acacia Center for Justice; ACLU; African Communities Together (ACT); America’s Voice; American Families United; American Immigration Lawyers Association; Amica Center for Immigrant Rights; Arab American Institute; Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP); Bend the Arc: Jewish Action; Borderlands Resource Initiative; Care in Action; Caring Across Generations; CASA; Center for Constitutional Rights; Center for Gender & Refugee Studies; Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law; Church World Service; Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA); Defending Rights & Dissent; Doctors for Camp Closure; End SIJS Backlog Coalition; Equal Rights Advocates; Family Equality; First Focus Campaign for Children; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Global Exchange; Grassroots Asians Rising; Haitian Bridge Alliance; HIAS; Human Rights First; Immigrant Defense Project; Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC); Immigration Equality Action Fund; Immigration Hub; ImmSchools; International Mayan League; International Refugee Assistance Project; Japanese American Citizens League ; Just Detention International; Justice for Migrant Women; Labor Council for Latin American Advancement; Latin America Working Group (LAWG); Lawyers for Good Government; Marianist Social Justice Immigration Team; MomsRising; Muslim Advocates; Muslims for Just Futures; National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum; National Center for Youth Law; National Council of Jewish Women; National Domestic Workers Alliance; National Education Association; National Employment Law Project; National Immigrant Justice Center; National Immigration Law Center; National Immigration Project; National Korean American Service and Education Consortium; National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice ; National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR); National Organization for Women; National Partnership for New Americans; National Women’s Law Center Action Fund; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; Popular Democracy; Project South; Quixote Center; Refugee Council USA; Refugees International ; Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign; Shriver Center on Poverty Law; Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF); Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Western Province Leadership; Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team, and Pax Christi; T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; Tahirih Justice Center; The Advocates for Human Rights; The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United); The Sikh Coalition; Union for Reform Judaism; Unitarian Universalist Association; Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice; United SIKHS; United We Dream Network; USAHello; Vera Institute of Justice; Witness at the Border; Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights; Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice; African Advocacy Network; Ahri Center; Al Otro Lado; Aldea – The People’s Justice Center; Angry Tias and Abuelas ; Arkansas United; ASATA Power; Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL); Asian Law Alliance ; Asian Pacific American Legal Resorce Center; Asylum Program of Ariy; Ayuda; Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center Inc.; Borderlands for Equity; CAIR-Washington; California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice; Central American Resource Center of Northern California  – CARECEN SF; Coalición de Derechos Humanos; Colorado Asylum Center; Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition; Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Washington DC; East Bay Sanctuary Covenant; El Vínculo Hispano; Estrella del Paso; Faith in New Jersey; FEA Foundation Ministries; First Friends of NJ & NY ; Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project; Florida Health Justice Project; Florida Immigrant Coalition; GALEO Impact Fund; Hawai‘i Coalition for Immigrant Rights; Hispanic Services Council, Inc.; Humanitarian Outreach for Migrant Emotional Health (H.O.M.E.); Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef); Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project; Immigration Center for Women and Children; Immmigration Services and Legal Advocacy (ISLA); Indivisible Howard County, Maryland; Inwood Indivisible; Jewish Activists for Immigration Justice; La Casa de Don Pedro, Inc.; La Raza Community Resource Center (San Francisco); Latino Action Network Foundation; Levine Center To End Hate- Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester NY; Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA); Make the Road Nevada; Make The Road New Jersey; Mariposa Legal, Inc.; Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition ; Miami Valley Immigration Coalition; Midwest Immigration Bond Fund; Mobile Pathways; National Lawyers Guild – St. Louis Chapter; New York Immigration Coalition; Northwest Immigrant Rights Project; Oasis Legal Services; OC Action; OneAmerica; OPAWL – Building AAPI Feminist Leadership; Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition; Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network; Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN); South Asian Network; Sur Legal Collaborative; The Black & Brown Coalition of North Carolina; The Center for Growing Justice; The Sidewalk School ; Unidos MN; Voices for Progress; Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center; Women Watch Afrika.

Issues: Civil Rights, Immigration