WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) today introduced a bill to establish a commission that would determine the facts and circumstances involving the relocation, internment, and deportation of Latin Americans of Japanese descent during World War II and the late 1940s.

Joining Senator Inouye in introducing the legislation were six original co-sponsors of the legislation - Democratic Senators Daniel K. Akaka of Hawaii, Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, and Carl Levin of Michigan, and Republican Senators Robert F. Bennett of Utah, and Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens, both of Alaska.

"The story of U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry who were forced from their homes on the West Coast, and confined in camps is a story that was made widely known after a fact-finding study by the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, which was established by the Congress in 1980," Senator Inouye said.  "The study uncovered critical facts that enabled the Congress to support, and President Reagan to sign, the historic Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that provided redress for Japanese-Americans.

"Far less known - and I myself did not initially know - is the story of Latin Americans of Japanese descent.  They were taken from their homes in countries such as Brazil, Panama, and Peru, stripped of their passports, involuntarily brought to the United States, and interned in American camps.  They apparently had only one purpose on U.S. soil: to be used for prisoner exchanges with Japan."

Senator Akaka added: "The Commission learned late in its study of the internment of some 2,300 Latin Americans of Japanese ancestry.  A new panel will provide a thorough and complete examination of this largely unknown aspect of the internment experience.  We are a great nation, and we should not be afraid of the lessons we can learn from the dark chapters of our history."

"The lessons of history," Senator Inouye said, "can be painful.  But that pain can also strengthen our nation, and our commitment to its democratic ideals, which include equal justice for all."

The legislation would establish a nine-member Commission.  The President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President pro tempore of the Senate would each appoint three members.

The panel would have the power to hold public hearings, receive evidence, and give testimony.  It will be able to recommend remedies, if any, based on what it uncovers.