Honolulu Record, August 19, 1948, vol. 1 no. 2, p. 1

Japanese To Get U.S. Passports

Kamaaina Japanese residents of the Territory of Hawaii who have been prohibited for approximately 40 years from migrating to the continental United States to establish permanent residence will shortly see this "limited passport" restriction revoked.

The alien Japanese concerned will include all Japanese who have been admitted to the Territory under labor contract visas. They include parents of veterans of both wars and even government officials—in short, parents of AJAs who came to Hawaii during the latter part of the last century or early 1900s.

This restriction on residence in the United States was established by Executive Order 589, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt on March 14, 1907. The period when this occurred was marked by a wave of strong anti-Oriental sentiment which was instigated by the press and "racist" groups on the West Coast.

The Department of Interior on July 22 informed the Japanese-American Citizens League that a draft has been prepared revoking the Executive Order of 1907. The JACL is an AJA organization on the mainland with local chapters in various cities and states.

The JACL's Anti-Discrimination Committee last fall initiated action to correct this discriminatory restriction against Japanese aliens residing in Hawaii.