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Hickenlooper Celebrates Funding to Preserve Camp Amache, Raise Awareness of Japanese American Internment

Jan 4, 2023

The legislation will preserve historical sites, including Camp Amache in Colorado

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper applauded President Biden signing into law the Norman Y. Mineta Japanese American Confinement Education Act, which will reauthorize funding for the Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) program to preserve internment camps across the country, including the Amache National Historic Site outside of Granada. The bill passed as part of the federal funding bill for fiscal year 2023.

“Japanese American internment during World War II is a dark stain on our past,” said Hickenlooper. “By preserving sites like Camp Amache, future generations will learn the entirety of our history.”

The Norman Y. Mineta Japanese American Confinement Education Act will reauthorize funding for the JACS program to continue the preservation of these sites — including the Amache National Historic Site in Colorado. Located outside of Granada, the site held nearly 10,000 Japanese Americans against their will during the Second World War. President Biden signed into law Hickenlooper’s Amache National Historic Site Act in March 2022, which establishes Camp Amache as part of the National Park System.

In one of the largest violations of civil rights in United States history, the federal government forced approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes and into internment camps during World War II. While the United States provided a formal apology and compensation to surviving victims in the Civil Liberties Act in 1988 and created the JACS program in 2006, it is critical to continue efforts to educate the public, preserve these sites, and honor the brave Japanese Americans who were subjected to internment.

Authored by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz and U.S. Representative Doris Matsui and cosponsored by Hickenlooper, the bill will also create a new $10 million competitive grant program to educate individuals about the historical significance of these events, ensuring that present and future generations learn from Japanese American confinement and the commitment of the United States to equal justice under the law.

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