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Casebook Read Credits
Asian Americans and U.S. Law (Tanaka)
Resource 5 . 5
half an hour

Hirabayashi v. United States (1943)

Marina Hsieh

In the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt acted to prevent incidents of subversion and espionage from individuals of Japanese descent living in the United States. He issued two executive orders– one giving the Secretary of War the power to designate certain parts of the country "military areas" and exclude certain persons from them, and the other established the War Relocation Authority which had the power to remove, maintain, and supervise persons who were excluded from the military areas.

Supreme Court of the United States
320 U.S. 81, 87 L. Ed. 1774, 63 S. Ct. 1375, 1943 U.S. LEXIS 1109, SCDB 1942-044
No. 870
1943-06-21

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