Japanese Americans gathered on the evening of Aug. 9 in San Francisco Japantown’s Peace Plaza to convey their solidarity against the continued attacks the Trump administration orchestrates against minorities in the United States. Hundreds of activists, both young and old, withstood the chilly evening to hear first-hand experiences of immigrants and the voices of veteran […]
Justice Department decries, local governments praise sanctuary cities ruling
A federal appeals court upheld an injunction Aug. 1 protecting San Francisco and Santa Clara County from a presidential executive order that threatened to withhold federal funding for so-called sanctuary cities. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said by a 2-1 vote that the 2017 order by […]
Politicians, advocacy groups respond to travel ban ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote June 26 upheld the third version of President Donald Trump’s travel ban restricting entry from five predominantly Muslim countries. The high court overturned a decision in which the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco blocked part of the ban last year. The case began […]
‘We need to … protect the rights of our Muslim brothers and sisters’
Editor’s Note: The Rev. Hiroki Suzuki gave the following message at the Community Memorial Day Service in Colma, Calif. May 28. Hebrews 12:1-2: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance […]
Japanese American former incarceree protests Trump on travel ban
NEW YORK — A Japanese American born in an American concentration camp during World War II is pushing back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel restrictions that target people from certain Muslim-majority nations. “It’s easy to issue a presidential order, but it would take many, many years to repeal it,†said Takeshi Furumoto, speaking at […]
Court strikes down part of Trump’s 3rd travel ban
A federal appeals court in San Francisco Dec. 22 struck down part of President (Donald) Trump’s third travel ban. Trump issued the ban in a Sept. 24 proclamation, restricting entry from six mostly Muslim counties, North Korea and Venezuela. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals applies to the six predominantly Muslim […]
Broadway actor Greg Watanabe brings resister Hirabayashi’s story to S.F.
Theater is terrific when the many elements that comprise a production come together as a whole, as was the case with “Hold These Truths,†a one-man play depicting the late civil rights icon Gordon Hirabayashi’s life. The San Francisco chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League sponsored the Nov. 18 performance, which took place at […]
4th Circuit Appeals Court blocks travel ban
A federal appeals court in Virginia upheld a lower court order May 25 blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting entry to the U.S. from six predominantly Muslim countries. A 13-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled by a 10-3 vote that the ban is unconstitutional because it targets Muslims on […]
U.S. appeals court hears arguments on revised travel ban
Lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department and the state of Hawai’i argued before a federal appeals court May 15 about whether the panel should consider President Trump’s campaign comments when deciding on the constitutionality of his revised travel ban. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard the arguments in Seattle […]
Korematsu overruled or reaffirmed?
On June 26, 2018, by a 5-4 majority, the Supreme Court in Trump v. Hawaii upheld President Donald Trump’s so-called “Travel Ban,†the thrice-revised executive orders barring entry of people from Muslim-majority nations. When Trump announced his first order in January 2017, travelers having nothing to do with terrorism were detained, U.S. residents were stranded […]