The Day of Remembrance, Day of Action at NWDC commemorates the 78th anniversary of the Executive Order that incarcerated 126,000 citizens and immigrants of Japanese descent during WWII. Today, thousands of immigrants and refugees are confined in similar concentration camps.

They are subjected to inhumane conditions, family separations, threats of deportation, and countless indignities.The Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, WA is one of the largest immigration prisons in the country, with a capacity to hold up to 1575 immigrants per day. Up to 200 people, many of whom are seeking asylum, are transferred from the US-Mexico border to the NWDC each month. Other people held at the NWDC have lived in the US for years, in some cases for the majority of their lives. While some are deported after only weeks, some are held for months and even years awaiting the outcomes of their deportation cases.

Few legal protections apply to these civil detainees, and those held are not entitled to an attorney at government expense; approximately 90% of them move forward in their cases unrepresented.As survivors and descendants of Japanese American WWII incarceration, we stand united with all those who have suffered the atrocities of U.S. concentration camps, past and present, to say, “Stop Repeating History!”

This message will be amplified by the beats of taiko drums and carried on the wings of thousands of tsuru, origami cranes symbolizing peace, compassion, hope, and healing. Press and general inquiries can be directed to tsuruseattle@gmail.com.

Learn more about the event here.