1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I’m writing as a concerned constituent from Arizona to express deep unease over the use of historically significant sites—such as Fort Bliss in Texas—for the mass detention of immigrants. These facilities echo the painful legacy of World War II internment camps, including those right here in our own state. Arizona played a central role in the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. The Gila River War Relocation Center and the Poston Relocation Center detained tens of thousands of innocent people, many of them U.S. citizens, based solely on their ancestry. These camps were built on Native American reservations, despite strong opposition from tribal communities. The Gila River Indian Community and the Colorado River Indian Tribes both resisted the federal government’s plans, yet their lands were used anyway—compounding injustice upon injustice. Today, we see similarly troubling patterns: • Reuse of Internment Sites: Fort Bliss, once used to detain Japanese, German, and Italian nationals, now houses Camp East Montana, a massive ICE detention facility projected to hold up to 5,000 migrants. • Mass Detention Without Due Process: Just as internees in WWII were denied fair hearings, many immigrants today are held for extended periods without timely access to legal counsel or asylum review. • Criminalization of Identity: Then, Japanese Americans were labeled “enemy aliens.” Now, migrants—many fleeing violence—are portrayed as threats, despite lacking serious criminal records. • Psychological and Cultural Harm: The trauma of internment left lasting scars on Japanese American communities. We risk repeating that harm by subjecting vulnerable families to confinement in militarized environments. As an Arizonan, I believe we have a moral responsibility to remember our history and ensure it does not repeat. I urge you to investigate the conditions at Camp East Montana and advocate for humane, just, and historically informed immigration policies. We must honor the lessons of our past—not recreate its mistakes. Thank you for your attention.