Sen. Tammy Duckworth is sponsoring a bill to outlaw imprisoning people based solely because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors for which people often face discrimination. She says thousands of Japanese Americans were imprisoned within American borders in World War II. And many people of Asian heritage are facing harassment and criminal attacks these days.
Duckworth and Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii are sponsoring the Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2021. It’s named for the late Cong. Mark Takai from Hawaii and Fred Korematsu, who challenged Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s executive order locking up people who lived near the west coast.