Department of Justice camps

More than 5,500 Japanese immigrants (Issei) were arrested by the FBI following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Most were sent first to temporary Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) detention stations and then transferred to Department of Justice (DOJ) internment camps, where they waited to appear before the Alien Enemy Hearing Board. These hearings determined whether the Issei would remain in the internment camps or be "released" to the War Relocation Authority (WRA) concentration camps. After the hearings, most of the Issei were sent to U.S. Army internment camps. The U.S. Army, charged with detaining military prisoners of war (POWs), then returned the Issei internees to DOJ control. The DOJ camps also interned Italian and German nationals and Japanese Latin Americans. Most of the DOJ internment camps held only men who had been separated from their families, but three camps housed single women and families. The camps were run by the INS, part of the Department of Justice.

World War II (231)
Department of Justice camps (409)

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409 items

doc Letter written by an Issei man (ddr-densho-25-70)

Matahichi Iseri had been imprisoned in Fort Missoula, Montana, a Department of Justice internment camp for "enemy aliens," since shortly after December 7, 1941. He sometimes wrote letters in his native Japanese, which were read and censored by interpreters and officials from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-25-70/

doc Letter written by an Issei man to his family (ddr-densho-25-68)

Matahichi Iseri was arrested on December 7, 1941, and taken to Fort Missoula, Montana, where he was detained at a Department of Justice internment camp for "enemy aliens." While he was separated from his wife and children, he was able to send a limited number of letters to them.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-25-68/

doc Change of Residence Notice (ddr-densho-25-27)

Considered a "dangerous enemy alien," Matahichi Iseri was separated from his family and sent to the Department of Justice internment camp at Fort Missoula, Montana. In June 1942, he received a Change of Residence Notice certificate, which indicated that his request to join his family at the Pinedale Assembly Center in California had been approved.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-25-27/

doc Letter written by an Issei man to his family (ddr-densho-25-26)

While he was at Fort Missoula, Montana, a Department of Justice internment camp for enemy aliens, Matahichi Iseri wrote to his wife and children, who were still awaiting a relocation assignment from the WRA.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-25-26/

doc Issei's hearing notice (ddr-densho-25-71)

Matahichi Iseri was arrested as an "enemy alien." Those arrested were required to appear before an alien enemy hearing board.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-25-71/

img Department of Justice internment camp (ddr-densho-44-3)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-44-3/

img Department of Justice internment camp (ddr-densho-44-1)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-44-1/

img New arrivals at the Department of Justice internment camp (ddr-densho-44-2)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-44-2/

img Santa Fe detention center broadcast section (ddr-densho-440-1)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-440-1/

doc Letter from Roy Takai to Hideo Hoshide (ddr-densho-440-3)

Roy Takai writes to Hideo Hoshide, forwarding him two photographs of his Uncle Komin who lived in Seattle prior to World War II.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-440-3/

doc James Seigo Miwa's Department of Justice internee file (ddr-densho-437-17)

James Seigo Miwa's Department of Justice internee file. Includes information about his arrest, incarceration, and repatriation request.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-437-17/

img DOJ camp (ddr-densho-442-306)

Group photograph of Issei men detained in a Department of Justice Camp. Note from donor indicates that it was San Antonio, Lordsburg, or Santa Fe.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-442-306/

doc Letter from Amy Morooka to Violet Sell (ddr-densho-457-1)

Amy Morooka writes to Violet Sell with an update on her efforts to gather testimonial letters in hopes of helping her father and Mr. N. be released from the Santa Fe Internment Camp.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-457-1/

doc Letter from Amy Morooka to Violet Sell (ddr-densho-457-2)

Amy Morooka writes to Violet Sell about her experiences during mass removal and arriving at Tulare Assembly Center. She details her journey with her mother and the support they received from their church community along the way.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-457-2/

doc Jap and Italian Internees Refuse to Mingle at Camp (April 3, 1942) (ddr-densho-56-829)

The Seattle Daily Times, August 3, 1942, p. 9

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-56-829/

doc Letter from John J. McCloy, Assistant Secretary of War, to Dillon S. Myer (ddr-densho-67-22)

Letter from John J. McCloy, Assistant Secretary of War, to Dillon S. Myer, Director of the War Relocation Authority, regarding transfer of family members to join issei in Department of Justice internment camps. McCloy wary of such transfers, as he believes they would subject Nisei to "issei contamination." Favors instead paroling Issei out of internment camps …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-67-22/