FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 1994                          (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888


 JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES POTENTIAL ELIGIBILITY OF JAPANESE
    AMERICANS WHO LIVED IN PHOENIX AREA FOR REDRESS PAYMENTS
     

     WASHINGTON, D.C. --  Fifty six Japanese Americans whose
business and personal activities in the Phoenix area were
restricted during World War II may be potentially eligible for
redress payments under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, the U.S.
Department of Justice announced today.  
     After reviewing the cases of these claimants, the Civil
Rights Division's Office of Redress Administration (ORA)
concluded that those persons who lived around Phoenix may be
eligible as a result of a mandatory exclusion program implemented
in southern Arizona.  Military proclamations created a restricted
zone in the southern part of Arizona, as well as areas in the
west coast.  
     Although persons living in the northern half of Arizona were
not evacuated or interned, ORA determined that a termination of
significant pre-existing and on-going business and personal
activities in their daily lives in the exclusion zone amounted to
losses of liberty or property.  Specifically, these claimants
suffered deprivations in business and personal activities, such
as transfers to other schools, or substantial disruption of
business or working arrangements, which might make them entitled
to payments under the law.
     "I am very pleased that we were able to come to a positive
resolution on these cases," said Assistant Attorney General for
Civil Rights Deval L. Patrick.  "Perhaps it will finally bring an
end to this difficult chapter of American history for the former
residents of Arizona."
     In the next few weeks, ORA will be sending letters to these
claimants requesting that they submit documentation which tends
to corroborate their claims.  Documents, such as school records,
property or business tax records, etc., will assist ORA in
expediting these claims.  If an individual has not included
supporting documentation, then he or she should forward any
supporting documentation to ORA as soon as possible.  If ORA
requires additional information, ORA will contact the claimant
shortly.  ORA will also require documentation, including proof of
their identities and current addresses, prior to payment.  If the
proper documentation is submitted on a timely basis, ORA expects
to pay these individuals in October 1994.    
     Since 1988 ORA has paid approximately $1.59 billion dollars
to 79,943 Japanese Americans under the Civil Liberties Act.
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