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Homeland Insecurity: Aliens, Citizens, and the Challenge to American Civil Liberties in World War II

Stephen Fox

iUniverse (2009)

ISBN 9781440155550

Reviewed by Ron Standerfer for Reader Views (11/09)

It was a period of American history when the most cherished and basic human rights of our society were trampled, suspended, or ignored altogether -- a time of profiling, FBI bungling, military commissions, secret arrests, suspension of due process and habeas corpus, deportation, extraordinary rendition, second class citizenship and other forms of harassment -- all in the name of homeland security during a war being fought overseas. This sounds very familiar doesn’t it? Surely “Homeland Insecurity,” by award-winning author Stephen Fox, was written to further expose the sometimes draconic and often illegal activities of the Bush administration to protect our citizens after the bombing of the World Trade Center. But in fact, the setting of this well written and carefully documented book is World War II where families of German and Italian ancestry were systematically relocated, interned, or in some cases, repatriated to a homeland they did not remember or had never visited.

       

The cast of characters in “Homeland Insecurity” run the gamut from historically famous people to anonymous families who endured the ruin of their reputations, assaults on their wellbeing and, in some cases; loss of lives. Notable among the former group are Franklin Roosevelt and J. Edgar Hoover. As it turns out, both of these men harbored insecurities and prejudices that when acted out, resulted in a tragic assault on the Bill of Rights.

       

Without question “Homeland Insecurity” is a scholarly work. In particular, Fox’s thematic analysis of the impact of the government’s actions on the lives of German immigrants appears to be based on an in-depth review of FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service documents, the results of which are meticulously footnoted and documented. But the thing I like best about the book is the narratives provided by the immigrants themselves. They make for a compelling enjoyable read. Some of the immigrants were unabashed Nazi supporters and it is not hard to understand why they were dealt with swiftly and harshly. Most of them, however, were good and decent citizens who considered themselves Americans and who found themselves caught up in a system they could not comprehend or defend against.

     

“Homeland Insecurity” begins with a quote by Jon Carroll, which is worth repeating here, “It is said that those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it. I suspect that those who do remember history are doomed to repeat it too. Human nature is human nature, and is an even deeper driving force than memory.” Was human nature the driving force behind the actions taken by our government to secure our borders during World War II or for that matter, was it the face behind the mask of overzealous prosecutions after the bombing of the World Trade Center? This book is a must read for all Americans concerned about their freedom.

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Contact: Carol Hoenig  

Personal Media Publicist Carolhoenig@carolhoenig.com 516-435-7545

Homeland Insecurity

Aliens, Citizens, and the Challenge to American Civil Liberties in World War II

 
McKinleyville, California –Author Stephen Fox’s Homeland Insecurity (published by iUniverse) begins with the introduction that “Historical memory and the messages we derive from the past are selective.” What follows is Fox showcasing the selective embrace of historical lessons, allowing the reader to see the present and future more clearly through examples from the past. His book shows how history repeats itself and must not be ignored through the stories of Italian and German Americans, who were the objects of security policies and, the government officials, including J. Edgar Hoover, Attorney General Francis Biddle, and Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt, who were charged with carrying out those policies. Set in World War II, but with an eye to the present and future, Homeland Insecurity offers a unique, thematic commentary on the experiences of men and woman of Italian and German ancestry who were relocated, interned, or excluded. Award-winning author Fox mines government documents, including those of the FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service, to analyze the impact on detainees and their families of profiling, FBI bungling, military commissions, secret arrests, suspension of due process and habeas corpus, deportation, extraordinary rendition, second-class citizenship, and other forms of harassment. Stephen Fox shares the stories of men and women of European ancestry whose constitutional and civil liberties were assaulted. He then makes the powerful connection between what happened in the United States from 1941-1948 and the post-9/11 world. What happened to those during WWII was tragic, but, tragically, has been repeated at our peril.

About the Author

Dr. Stephen (Steve) Fox is a Navy veteran and the award-winning author of monographs and articles on Italian and German Americans. His most recent book, Fear Itself: Inside the Roundup of German Americans During World War II (iUniverse) was published in 2005. Fox, who taught U.S. history for thirty years at Humboldt State University, is recognized nationally and internationally as the leading scholar on the subject of European-American relocation and internment during World War ll. The author is also an avid and experienced long-distance bicyclist. He and his wife, Françoise, live near the sea in California’s Redwood Country. 

For more information, visit careystevens.blogspot.com. The author is available for interview.  

Homeland Insecurity Available from: www.iUniverse.com, www.bn.com, and www.amazon.com ISBN: 978-1440155550 · 6 x 9 · Paperback · 256 pages · $19.95

The book is live!

My new book is now "live" and available to order.  Check with your local bookstore, or order online from iUniverse (softcover, hardcover, e-book). Also available at a discount from Amazon.com.

Radio interview

I just finished an interview with iUniverse Radio that will be broadcast Saturday, Nov. 14.  Details to follow.  It may also be possible to post a podcast of the interview here.  Stay tuned....

Scheduled talk about my book - Dec. 8, 2009

I have been invited to discuss Homeland Insecurity at the next Emeritus and Retired Faculty Association (Humboldt State) luncheon. You can find the announcement at the organization's web site.

Publication soon!

Homeland Insecurity is going to the printer as I write this.  Copies should be available, I would think, by mid-November.

You may have noticed that the cover is slightly changed so as to exhibit selection of the book as an "Editor's Choice" volume.  I'm told that only ten percent of iUniverse's authors receive this distinction.

Current Progress...

There is one more proofing step, after which I'll have to correct footnote pagination. Then the book will be close to production and availability.

From the Dust Jacket:

Set in World War II, but with an eye to the present and future, Homeland Insecurity offers a unique, thematic commentary on the experiences of men and women of Italian and German ancestry who were relocated, interned, or excluded. Award- winning author Stephen Fox mines government documents—especially those of the FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service—to analyze the impact on detainees and their families of profi ling, FBI bungling, military commissions, secret arrests, suspension of due process and habeas corpus, deportation, extraordinary rendition, second-class citizenship, and other forms of harassment.

Homeland Insecurity showcases the selective embrace of historical lessons. During the war, policymakers, the media, and the public chose only the message that supported their assumptions. When this lack of judgment coincided with the prejudices and insecurities of J. Edgar Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt, the result was tragic: an assault on the Bill of Rights, the ruin of countless reputations and family well- being, and lost lives.

Told through intimate stories of men and women of European ancestry, Homeland
Insecurity questions whether this assault on constitutional and civil liberties can and will be repeated.

Additional editorial comments

"Compelling reading, putting humanity into the statistics that we know exist.... A beautifully executed, provocative book."

From the publisher's editorial evaluation...

"A very interesting and beautifully-written book. It was a pleasure to read."

From the Introduction to "Homeland Insecurity":

Historical memory and the messages we derive from the past are selective. By now, nearly everyone is familiar with George Santayana’s warning that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. But which past? There is no better example of this dilemma than the Second World War, which offers a wealth of lessons. The conventional wisdom is that some must not be forgotten: never appease an aggressor (Munich), be prepared (“Remember Pearl Harbor!”), unconditional surrender, and the threat of aliens within (the dreaded fifth column). With regard to the latter, those in charge of homeland security in the United States unhesitatingly chose the lesson of prior experience: intolerance. Tradition is one thing, and its sway cannot be discounted. What follows, however, is the story of how custom—familiarity—combined with the personal prejudices and insecurities of powerful men, were promoted to a national obsession at the expense of Constitutional and civil liberties, countless reputations, family well being, and lives. Simply believing certain lessons does not make them true.

Eventually come recrimination and regret (“What were we thinking?”), reminding us what happens when fear is allowed priority. This is the unconventional lesson. At the outset of the war, for example, leaders were mindful not to repeat what they realized were anti-German excesses in 1917–18. Japanese Americans received an apology and reparations in the 1980s for the egregious violation of their constitutional rights from 1942–45. President Bill Clinton signed the Wartime Violations of Italian American Civil Liberties Act on November 7, 2000, which required the Justice Department to account for the government’s internment, exclusion, and other harassment of Italian Americans. There has been an effort in Congress, pushed by co-sponsors and backers of the Day of Remembrance (February 19, 1942), to investigate further the hounding of Italian Americans, to which the lawmakers have added German Americans and the Germans, Japanese and Italians deported from Latin America. The most recent regrets involve the decision to shutter the controversial prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, hastily constructed in late 2001, and a re-commitment to international law and the Geneva convention regarding detainees.

Thus, regret is also a lesson that gives ironic new meaning to the trivial slogan, “Better safe than sorry.” Remorse ought to be as indelible as the customary reaction to danger. So why are the pangs of guilt so much less influential than panic? Alas, we will probably have to rely on philosophers and biologists, not historians, to explain why some messages are seared into memory and others not….

Curiosity about this darker side of World War II amounts to more than a simple desire to know what happened. It compels … a reevaluation of fundamental American beliefs, all as relevant in the early 21st century as they were in the 1940s:

• The melting pot? European-American relocation, internment, and exclusion turns out to be a surprising chapter in immigration history, one in which the acceptance of aliens not subject to discrimination because of their skin color came to rest instead on the insistence that they must have no pasts.

• The Bill of Rights? Are all persons in the United States, despite their birthplace, entitled to due process and the free exercise of conscience as provided in the Bill of Rights? On the other hand, may Congress suspend the Constitution and allow the executive to choose among residents? Total war—even undeclared war—has historically threatened the delicate balance between governmental power and individual liberty in the United States, and due in no small measure to World War II, the institutionalization of governmental hostility to so-called subversive ideas and organizations is now an accepted part of American life.

• American exceptionalism? American exceptionalism holds that the United States is unique among nations: “in the world but not of the world,” as some put it. Nevertheless, in at least three ways—the selective persecution of enemy aliens and American citizens based on their ethnicity and opinions; the references to relocation and internment facilities as concentration camps; and the denunciations by relatives, friends, and acquaintances—Americans unwittingly confirmed that wartime distinctions between U.S. homeland security practices and those of other countries were in degree, not kind….

Chapters: "Homeland Insecurity"

Introduction

1 Profiling

2 The FBI, Spies, & Military Commissions

3 Secret Arrests, Due Process, & Habeas Corpus

4 Changing Standards of Dangerousness

5 Arbitrary Detention, Sentencing, & Release

6 Punishment, Not Security

7 Repatriation & Deportation

8 Extraordinary Rendition

9 Second-Class Citizenship

Conclusion

My Forthcoming Book

Previously, I have written narrative histories of European American relocation, internment, and exclusion. With this book, I step back and translate those events into a broader, thematic framework: the influence of historical precedent on domestic security practices, and the contest between security and the Constitution that is the heart of the story.

“HOW COULD WE HAVE LET THIS HAPPEN”? Set in World War II, but with an eye to the present and future, Homeland Insecurity offers a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective on the internment story. The book mines government documents—especially those of the FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service—for the intimate stories of men and women of Italian and German ancestry who were relocated, interned, or excluded. I observe the impact on these detainees and their families by emphasizing profiling, FBI bungling, military commissions, secret arrests, suspension of due process and habeas corpus, deportation, extraordinary rendition, and second-class citizenship.

DO WE PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO HISTORY? Policymakers, the media, and the public typically embrace simplistic or muddled historical lessons. Each of these groups manipulated such lessons to bolster their assumptions and out of sheer laziness. When this lack of judgment coincided with the prejudices and insecurities of J. Edgar Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt, the result was a disaster—an assault on the Bill of Rights, the ruin of countless reputations and family well being, and lost lives.

CAN IT HAPPEN AGAIN? The answer to that question may be the ultimate lesson of this tragic episode.