Most of Those Interned Had Never Even Been to Japan
The hatred and fear of the Japanese did not just extend to first generation immigrants from Japan but even second and third generation immigrants. Anyone who looked like they might be from Japan was subjected to the abject racism that was growing through the country and particularly the West Coast. Arrests for first generation immigrants who had served in the Japanese military took place almost immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
For the weeks following the attack, immigrants from Japan and their descendants were forced to adhere to strict curfews. Arrests continued for anyone that was the least bit suspicious and eventually that grew to include anyone. Many of those who were forced from their homes and made to go to concentration camps were called Nisei. Nisei were the children of immigrants, those who were born in the United States and were American citizens. About two-thirds of those who were held in internment camps were Nisei.
For most of the Nisei they had never even been to Japan. They considered themselves to be American and had more loyalty and ties to the country they had been raised in than the country that their parents had come from. Some did not even speak Japanese. There were so many of the Nisei that did not speak Japanese that it became a focus of the schooling in the internment camps so that when the time came from the internees to be sent “back” to Japan they would be able to speak the language.
Their treatment caused many of the Nisei to feel conflicted. They wanted to support the only home they had ever known but they were realizing that they were not as welcome in their homeland as they had once thought. Even second generation Nisei, those born to parents who had never set foot in Japan were placed into camps and treated like criminals.