Trump surrogate says WWII interment camps set 'precedent' for Muslim registry

Ronald Reagan Library

Ronald Reagan signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that apologized for the internment of Japanese citizens and permanent residents during World War II. 

I THOUGHT we all agreed that the internment camps that placed thousands of Japanese/Americans behind barbed wire was a mistake and illegal.

I distinctly remember President Ronald Reagan issuing a formal apology and reparations were paid for the unjust incarceration of U.S. citizens.

That dark chapter in American history has apparently been forgotten by the incoming Trump administration.

Carl Higbie, a prominent surrogate of President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday (Oct. 16) used the example of the WWII internment camps as precedent for creating a registry for Muslim immigrants. This comes less than a week after the Kansas secretary of state told Reuters that Trump's team might reprise a post-Sept. 11 national registry of immigrants from countries regarded as havens for "extremist activity." 

The idea is so far out there even Fox News host Meghan Kelly expressed disbelief.
Kelly: You know better than to suggest that. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that gets people scared, Carl.

Higbie: Right. I'm not saying I agree with it, but in this case I absolutely believe that a regional-based ...

Kelly: You can't be citing Japanese internment camps as precedent for anything the president-elect is gonna do.

Higbie: Look, the president needs to protect America first, and if that means having people that are not protected under our Constitution have some sort of registry so we can understand, until we can identify the true threat and where it's coming from, I support it."

Higgle later clarified to the New York Times that he was not a constitutional lawyer and was working from a layman’s understanding of the 1944 Supreme Court ruling that the order for internment camps was constitutional. He told the NYTimes he hoped to be involved in the Trump administration but had engaged in no “formal conversations” with the president-elect’s team.

Meghan Kelly interviewed Trump adviser Carl Higbie.

Democratic Rep. Judy Chu of California denounced Higbie's comments.

"Any proposal to force American Muslims to register with the federal government, and to use Japanese imprisonment during World War II as precedent, is abhorrent and has no place in our society," Chu said. "These ideas are based on tactics of fear, division, and hate that we must condemn."

“The imprisonment of thousands of Japanese-Americans during World War II, including my parents and grandparents, is widely understood to be one of the darkest chapters in American history,” Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said in a statement Thursday.

“I am horrified that people connected to the incoming administration are using my family’s experience as a precedent for what President-elect Donald Trump could do,” added Takano, who supported Hillary Clinton in the presidential election.

“These comments confirm many Americans’ worst fears about the Trump administration, and they reflect an alarming resurgence of racism and xenophobia in our political discourse.”

Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) called the remarks "outrageous, unacceptable and reckless" in a statement.

"The unjust internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was a painful period during our history, but we have taken great strides as a country to heal those wounds and move forward."

Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, who is campaigning to become the Chair of the Democratic National Party, said that if the Trump administration "moves forward with the racist and divisive policies his team have been advocating for, we will be the first ones to sand up to him. We will be the first ones to tell him, 'No.' "

"Higbie’s attempt to cite Japanese American incarceration as a precedent for this type of action is frightening and wrong. It’s a statement intended to lay a marker for a misguided belief that ignores the true lessons of Japanese American incarceration.," cited a statement of the Japanese American Citizens League. "This lesson was captured in the words of a federal commission that said, '…The broad historical causes which shaped these decisions (to incarcerate Japanese Americans) were race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.'

"JACL believes that some of these same conditions exist today, where Muslim Americans are being singled out and unfairly targeted, and where the voices of leadership that should be speaking out against unfair treatment are not.

"We must not misinterpret our history by believing the Japanese American incarceration was justified as a precedent for similar actions today, and further, we must not use the wrongdoing perpetrated against Japanese Americans during World War II as a justification for the mistreatment of Muslim Americans."

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Beam me up Scotty: It got better for Mr. Sulu

IT GOT BETTER for actor George Takei.

People may laugh to learn that I'm a die-hard fan of the TV show Star Trek, a pop culture icon that doesn't shy away from its science fiction roots. The genre is often looked down upon by the intelligentsia or literary snobs.  

While I can't claim to be a Trekker (Don't call me a Trekkie) I can't tell you how influential Star Trek has been in my life. There may be a book out there already written entitled "All I really need to know about life I learned from Star Trek." If there isn't, there should be. Hmmm?

When George Takei "came out" it was not surprising that the news didn't create such a fuss among  the many fans of Mr. Hikaru Sulu, chief helmsman of the original Enterprise crew. Besides the gadgetry, Star Trek was about diversity, tolerance, passion, compassion, logic and friendship. Also not surprising, most of the cast rallied around him with the notable exception of one starship captain.

With an interracial cast, the sci-fi series has always dealt with race either metaphorically or allegorically. It featured TV's first interracial kiss (Kirk and Uhuru) and a number of episodes dealt with inter-species prejudices and discrimination, just like we deal with race on Earth.

But, I digress.

Despite the daring themes Star Trek tackles, Sulu's role - and I dare say, Uhuru's role too, is just a cut above the red shirts, those unknown cast members who end up dying whenever the crew tackles dangerous missions. Their backstories don't get filled in years after the series ended in the books/novels/comics or follow up movies featuring the characters whose fans won't let them fade away. Only do the characters of Spock and Worf get rounded out.

In the five years since coming out, Takei's career has skyrocketed. To say he has been "busy" is an understatement.

Takei's role as mentor for Asian entertainers and elder statesman continues to grow. He is also cemented as a civil rights activist, not only for gays but for all people living on the Edge. His most recent project is a musical called "Allegiance" about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. The Broadway-bound production also includes Tony-award winner Lea Salonga in its cast.

In the meantime, catch the premier of the documentary "To be Takei" on DirectTV starting  July 3 through August.