Introduction

As to differentiating between different nationalities … ​there is a difference; that many of our old Italian people who came here years ago and who worked and raised families, and who have been law-abiding citizens, have very little, if any, respect for their native land and which would in no way interfere with their loyalty. Moreover, conditions in European countries are such that many Italian people here today feel that the only solution for their problem over there is for the United States to win this war. These people, naturally, are going to be loyal to us. Locally, a very great percent of our young men who are joining the Army are of Italian parentage, and before any action should be taken to move their parents away from their homes, I believe we should consider seriously the result that that may have upon them as soldiers....

Conclusion

The conclusion emphasizes that Italians were detained by the INS under the alien enemy program and interned in far fewer numbers than Germans and Japanese, despite their much greater population size, and were removed from alien enemy status sooner. Yet, as documented through personal stories in this final chapter, while World War II generally strengthened Italians’ increasing identification as Americans, the wartime experiences of internees slowed their assimilation processes by narrowing job prospects and tarnishing their reputations in their former communities. Families affected by internment and other wartime restrictions did not discuss their experiences after the war because of the shame associated with the memories and confusion over what their loved ones had done wrong.

Bocce behind Barbed Wire

Chapter 4 is a social history of the daily lives of the internees in INS camps and Army camps. It shows how many internees developed a sense of powerlessness as requests for a reevaluation of their situation went unanswered. The United States chose to extend prisoner of war protections in the 1929 Geneva Convention to enemy aliens in internment camps, allowing them to refer to the convention’s guarantees of safe and humane treatment and a good standard of living to redress complaints. This chapter shows how the internees exercised agency by finding ways to prove that they could be loyal American citizens, particularly by exhibiting a good work ethic. Although the balance of power still weighed heavily in favor of the government, the personal letters of internees tell a story of resiliency in the bleak setting of internment.

The Struggle for Justice in the Internment Process

Chapter 3 examines the alien enemy hearings, exploring the question of what process is due enemy aliens through legal constitutional theories concerning aliens’ rights. After comparing the alien enemy hearings to deportation proceedings, this chapter documents debates over what constitutional rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments endure in wartime and their applicability to the form of procedure afforded enemy aliens. Through discussion of case files, this chapter follows several interned Italians from their arrest, through their hearings and course of internment. For most internees, the Justice Department’s attempts, under the direction of Attorney General Francis Biddle, to infuse greater due process into the system came too late to save internees from feeling despondent over not being able to prove their innocence and potential to be good American citizens.

The Face of Selective Internment and the Impact of Other Wartime Restrictions

Chapter 2 provides a social profile of the 343 Italian civilian internees. Persons who held leadership roles in their communities or possessed special knowledge that could be used against the United States were most feared by the government. This chapter traces the debate among President Roosevelt and his advisors, the War Department, the Justice Department, and legislative committees about whether to evacuate the entire population of Italian aliens from military areas. Italian American politicians and prominent members of the Italian community testified to the loyalty of their community toward the United States. Finally, this chapter shows the distinct variation in the military defense commands’ interpretation of Executive Order 9066 regarding the protection of military areas and policies of individual exclusion and restrictions upon enemy aliens, and explains the factors that resulted in stricter restrictions in the Western Defense Command as compared to those in the Eastern Defense Command.

Afterword

The story of the internment of Italians during World War II raises the same question we ask today about how modern liberal democracies may wage war and remain true to democratic values. As we grapple with the question of what rights are due individuals residing in this country whose ties to terrorist organizations at war with the United States cast suspicion upon their activities, the process of selective internment during World War II provides valuable lessons....

The Legal and Political History of Italian Immigrants in the United States before 1941

Chapter 1 traces the evolution in Italians’ social, political, and economic status in the United States, beginning with the effects of early twentieth-century immigration law, and conveys how their integration into American society influenced wartime policies. This chapter argues that Italians’ progression in the labor market coincided with their changing racial identity and white consciousness, but that political involvement was more instrumental in raising the public perception of Italians. This chapter also explains how the FBI built a domestic intelligence program through the collection of information about subversive individuals or organizations several years before U.S. involvement in World War II. A joint agreement in July 1941 between the War Department and the Justice Department established policy for handling suspicious persons of enemy nations residing in the United States.