Chairman Neguse Holds Hearing on His Bipartisan Legislation to Designate Amache Incarceration Site in Colorado as National Historic Site

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Joe Neguse, Chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands held a legislative hearing on his bipartisan legislation to designate the Amache incarceration site in Southeast Colorado as a National Historic Site. The bill was introduced last week by Congressman Neguse and Congressman Ken Buck and has already earned broad support from Coloradans. Bob Fuchigami, one of more than 7,000 people unjustifiably detained at the Granada Relocation Center from 1942 to 1945 testified as a witness at the hearing.

“The Amache National Historic Site Act is an important bill for Colorado, to help heal the deep scars of Japanese internment in our country, honor the individuals detained at the Granada Relocation Center and educate future generations,” said Congressman Joe Neguse. “As Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring this bill up for a hearing just one week after introduction. Given broad support for the bill we hope to see it move swiftly through the legislative process. Amache tells an important story. I stand ready to make sure the story is protected and shared for many generations.”

View the Congressman’s opening remarks here.

View testimony from Bob Fuchigami here.

“Designation of Amache as a National Historic Site will provide the additional resources to further promote the preservation of the Japanese American experience of wartime mass incarceration through the physical places and the stories the site represents,” said David Inoue, Executive Director at Japanese Americans Citizens League (JACL). “As the one site in Colorado, Amache also carries the legacy of Governor Ralph Carr who famously said of the Japanese Americans incarcerated at Amache, "If you harm them, you must first harm me." Words spoken years ago, but even more relevant today in the current atmosphere of anti-Asian hate.”

During the first months of World War II, the United States initiated the single largest forced imprisonment in its history when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order forcing more than 120,000 people, primarily of Japanese descent, to relocate to 10 remote, military-style prisons. The Granada Relocation Center in the southeast corner of Colorado, known as Amache, was one of these 10 incarceration centers. Two-thirds of the people at Amache were American citizens. Most had never been to Japan. Many others were first-generation Japanese elders who had immigrated from Japan and were denied U.S. citizenship for decades. Most were given a week or less to dispose of everything they owned, with no idea where they were going or what would happen.

The Amache Preservation Society, along with the support of other organizations, currently maintains the physical site of Amache. They have renovated the cemetery, established an Amache Museum and research center, restored key Amache landmarks, including the water tower, a guard tower, and barrack. Learn more about the site’s timeline here.

Read the bill text for the Amache National Historic Site Act here.

View quotes of support here.

###