Assembly adopts HR 82, designating Feb. 19, 2026, as a Day of Remembrance for Japanese American incarceration

Assemblymember Muratsuchi presented House Resolution 82 on the floor Jan. 20, urging the Assembly to declare Feb. 19, 2026, a day of remembrance for the incarceration and detention of Japanese Americans under Executive Order 9066. Muratsuchi said the order authorized the mass incarceration of more than 125,000 people, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens, and cited the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that provided reparations to surviving camp inmates.

Multiple members spoke in support. Assemblymember Hadwick said she grew up near the Tule Lake Segregation Center and asked colleagues for an aye vote to honor victims and ensure the history is taught in schools. Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez described the removals and the Japanese American Museum as a witness to that history. Members from the Native American, Jewish, Latino and Black caucuses emphasized solidarity and the obligation to remember so similar abuses are not repeated.

The Clerk opened the roll to add coauthors; 72 members were added as coauthors. The Assembly then took a voice vote; the ayes were declared to have it and the resolution was adopted. After passage, Assemblymember Muratsuchi introduced survivors of the wartime incarceration to the chamber and thanked community groups, including the Japanese American Citizens League, for attending.

Why it matters: supporters said formal remembrance affirms a duty to teach the past and guard civil liberties, while several speakers drew parallels between past wartime policies and contemporary enforcement actions that, they said, risk targeting communities without due process.

Next steps: HR 82 is a chamber resolution and was adopted on the Assembly floor; no further action is required. The Assembly welcomed survivors to the Capitol following the vote.