Civil Liberties Act Redress Provision

§ 74.1 — Purpose.

The purpose of this part is to implement section 105 of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which authorizes the Attorney General to locate, identify, and make payments to all eligible individuals of Japanese ancestry who were evacuated, relocated, and interned during World War II as a result of government action.

§ 74.2 — Definitions.

(a) The Act means the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, Public Law 100-383, 102 Stat. 903, as codified at 50 U.S.C. app. 1989b et seq., (August 10, 1988).

(b) The Administrator means the Administrator in charge of the Office of Redress Administration of the Civil Rights Division.

(c) Assembly centers and relocation centers means those facilities established pursuant to the acts described in § 74.4(i)-(ii).

(d) Child of an eligible individual means a recognized natural child, an adopted child, or a step-child who lived with the eligible person in a regular parent-child relationship.

(e) The Commission means the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians established by the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment Act, 50 U.S.C. app. 1981 note.

(f) Evacuation, relocation, and internment period means that period beginning December 7, 1941, and ending June 30, 1946.

(g) The Fund means the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund in the Treasury of the United States administered by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 104 of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

(h) The Office means the Office of Redress Administration established in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice to execute the responsibilities and duties assigned the Attorney General pursuant to section 105 of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

(i) Parent of an eligible individual means the natural father and mother, or fathers and mothers through adoption.

(j) The Report means the published report by the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians of its findings and recommendations entitled, Personal Justice Denied, Part I and Part II.

(k) Spouse of an eligible individual means a wife or husband of an eligible individual who was married to that eligible person for at least one year immediately before the death of the eligible individual.

§ 74.3 — Eligibility determinations.

(a) An individual is found to be eligible if such an individual:

(1) Is of Japanese ancestry; and

(2) Was living on the date of enactment of the Act, August 10, 1988; and

(3) During the evacuation, relocation, and internment period was—

(i) A United States citizen; or

(ii) A permanent resident alien who was lawfully admitted into the United States; or

(iii) An alien, who after the evacuation, relocation and internment period, was permitted by applicable statutes to obtain the status of permanent resident alien extending to the internment period; and

(4) Was confined, held in custody, relocated, or otherwise deprived of liberty or property as a result of—

(i) Executive Order 9066, dated February 19, 1942;

(ii) The Act entitled “An Act to provide a penalty for violation of restrictions or orders with respect to persons entering, remaining, leaving, or committing any act in military areas or zones,” approved March 21, 1942; or

(iii) Any other Executive order, Presidential proclamation, law of the United States, directive of the Armed Forces of the United States, or other action taken by or on behalf of the United States or its agents, representatives, officers, or employees, respecting the evacuation, relocation, or internment of individuals solely on the basis of Japanese ancestry.

(b) The following individuals are deemed to have suffered a loss within the meaning of paragraph (a)(4) of this section:

(1) Individuals who were interned under the supervision of the wartime Relocation Authority, the Department of Justice or the United States Army; or

(2) Individuals enrolled on the records of the United States Government during the period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending June 30, 1946, as being in a prohibited military zone, including those individuals who, during the voluntary phase of the government’s evacuation program between the issuance of Public Proclamation No. l on March 2, 1942, and the enforcement of Public Proclamation No. 4 on March 29, 1942, filed a “Change of Residence” card with the Wartime Civil Control Administration; or

(3) Individuals ordered by the Navy to leave Bainbridge Island, off the coast of the State of Washington, or Terminal Island, near San Pedro, California; or

(4) Individuals who were members of the Armed Forces of the United States at the time of the evacuation and internment period and whose domicile was in a prohibited zone and as a result of the government action lost property; or

(5) Individuals who were members of the Armed Forces of the United States at the time of the evacuation and internment period and were prohibited by government regulations from visiting their interned families or forced to submit to undue restrictions amounting to a deprivation of liberty prior to visiting their families; or

(6) Individuals who, after March 29, 1942, evacuated and relocated from the West Coast as a result of government action, including those who obtained written permission to travel to a destination outside of the unauthorized areas from the Western Defense Command and the Fourth Army; or

(7) Individuals born in assembly centers, relocation centers or internment camps to parents of Japanese ancestry who had been evacuated, relocated or interned pursuant to paragraph (a)(4) of this section, including children born in the United States to parents of Japanese ancestry who were relocated to the United States from other countries in the Americas during the internment period; or

(8) Individuals who, prior to or at the time of evacuation, relocation or internment period, were in institutions, such as a hospital, pursuant to acts described in paragraph (a)(4) and, were placed under the custody of the Wartime Relocation Authority and confined within the grounds of the institution and not permitted to return to their homes or to go anywhere else.

(9) Individuals born on or before January 20, 1945, to a parent or parents who had been evacuated, relocated, or interned from his or her original place of residence in the prohibited military zones on the West Coast, on or after March 2, 1942, pursuant to paragraph (a)(4) of this section, and who were excluded by Executive Order 9066 or military proclamations issued under its authority, from their parent’s or parents’ original place of residence in the prohibited military zones on the West Coast. This also includes those individuals who were born to a parent or parents who had “voluntarily” evacuated from his or her original place of residence in the prohibited military zones on the West Coast, on or after March 2, 1942, pursuant to paragraph (b)(3) of this section, and who were excluded by Executive Order 9066 or military proclamations issued under its authority, from their parent’s or parents’ original place of residence in the prohibited military zones on the West Coast.

(c) Paragraph (b) of this section is not an exhaustive list of individuals who are deemed eligible for compensation; there may be other individuals determined to be eligible under the Act on a case-by-case basis by the Redress Administrator.

§ 74.4 — Individuals excluded from compensation pursuant to section 108(B) of the Act.

(a) The term “eligible individual” does not include any individual who, during the period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on September 2, 1945, relocated to a country while the United States was at war with that country.

(b) Nothing in paragraph (a) of this section is meant to exclude from eligibility any person who, during the period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on September 2, 1945, relocated to a country while the United States was at war with that country, and who had not yet reached the age of 21 and was not emancipated as of the date of departure from the United States, provided that such person is otherwise eligible for redress under these regulations and the following standards:

(1) Persons who were 21 years of age or older, or emancipated minors, on the date they departed the United States for Japan are subject to an irrebuttable presumption that they relocated to Japan voluntarily and will be ineligible.

(2) Persons who served in the active military service on behalf of the Government of Japan or an enemy government during the period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on September 2, 1945, are subject to an irrebuttable presumption that they departed the United States voluntarily for Japan. If such individuals served in the active military service of an enemy country, they must inform the Office of such service and, as a result, will be ineligible.

§ 74.5 — Identification of eligible persons.

(a) The Office shall establish an information system with names and other identifying information of potentially eligible individuals from the following sources:

(1) Official sources:

(i) The National Archives;

(ii) The Department of Justice;

(iii) The Social Security Administration;

(iv) Internal Revenue Service;

(v) University libraries;

(vi) State and local libraries;

(vii) State and local historical societies;

(viii) State and local agencies.

(2) Unofficial sources:

(i) Potentially eligible individuals;

(ii) Eligible individuals, relatives, legal guardians, representatives, or attorneys;

(iii) Civic associations;

(iv) Religious organizations;

(v) Such other sources that the Administrator determines are appropriate.

(b) Historic information pertaining to individuals listed in official United States Government records will be analyzed to determine if such persons are eligible for compensation as set forth in section 108 of the Act.

(c) Persons not listed in the historic records of the United States Government who volunteer information pertaining to their eligibility may be required by the Administrator to submit affidavits and documentary evidence to support assertions of eligibility.

§ 74.6 — Location of eligible persons.

The Office shall compare the names and other identifying information of eligible individuals from the historical official records of the United States Government with current information from both official and unofficial sources in the information system to determine if such persons are living or deceased and, if living, the present location of these individuals.

§ 74.7 — Notification of eligibility.

(a) Each individual who has been found to be eligible or their statutory heirs will be sent written notification of such status by the Office. Enclosed with the notification will be a declaration to be completed by the person so notified, or by his or her legal guardian, and a request for documentation of identity.

(b) The declaration and submitted documents (appendix A to part 74) will be used for a final verification of eligibility in order to ensure that the person identified as eligible by the Office is in fact the person who will receive payment, and shall include a request for the following information:

(1) Current legal name;

(2) Proof of name change if the current legal name is different from the name used when evacuated or interned, such as a marriage certificate or other evidence of the name change as described in appendix A;

(3) Date of birth;

(4) Proof of date of birth as set forth in appendix A;

(5) Current address;

(6) Proof of current address as set forth in appendix A;

(7) Current telephone number;

(8) Social Security Number;

(9) Name when evacuated or interned;

(10) Proof of guardianship by a person executing a declaration on behalf of an eligible person as set forth in appendix A.

(11) Proof of the relationship to a deceased eligible individual by a statutory heir as set forth in § 74.13 and appendix A;

(12) Proof of the death of a deceased eligible person as set forth in appendix A.

(c) The individual must submit a signed and dated statement swearing under penalty of perjury to the truth of all the information provided on the declaration. A natural or legal guardian, or any other person, including the spouse of an eligible person, who the Administrator determines is charged with the care of the individual, may submit a signed and dated statement on behalf of the eligible individual who is incompetent or otherwise under a legal disability.

(d) Upon receipt of an individual’s declaration and documentation, the Administrator shall make a determination of verification of the identity of the eligible person.

(e) Each person determined not to be preliminarily eligible after review of the submitted documentation will be notified by the Redress Administrator of the finding of ineligibility and the right to petition for a reconsideration of such a finding.

§ 74.8 — Notification of payment.

The Administrator shall, when funds are appropriated for payment, notify an eligible individual in writing of his or her eligibility for payment. Section 104 of the Act limits any appropriation to not more than $500,000,000 for any fiscal year.

§ 74.9 — Conditions of acceptance of payment.

(a) Each eligible individual will be deemed to have accepted payment if, after receiving notification of eligibility from the Redress Administrator, the eligible individual does not refuse payment in the manner described in § 74.11.

(b) Acceptance of payment shall be in full satisfaction of all claims arising out of the acts described in § 74.3(a)(4).

§ 74.10 — Authorization for payment.

(a) Upon determination by the Administrator of the eligibility of an individual, the authorization for payment of $20,000 to the eligible individual will be certified by the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division to the Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Management Division, who will give final authorization to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment out of the funds appropriated for this purpose.

(b) Authorization of payments made to survivors of eligible persons will be certified in the manner described in paragraph (a) of this section to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment to the individual member or members of the class of survivors entitled to receive payment under the procedures set forth in § 74.13. Payments to statutory heirs of a deceased eligible individual will be made only after all the statutory heirs of the deceased person have been identified and verified by the Office.

(c) Any payment to an eligible person under a legal disability, may, in the discretion of the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, be certified for payment for the use of the eligible person, to the natural or legal guardian, committee, conservator or curator, or, if there is no such natural or legal guardian, committee, conservator or curator, to any other person, including the spouse of such eligible person, who the Administrator determines is charged with the care of the eligible person.

§ 74.11 — Effect of refusal to accept payment.

If an eligible individual who has been notified by the Administrator of his or her eligibility refuses in writing within eighteen months of the notification to accept payment, the written record of refusal will be filed with the Office and the amount of payment as described in § 74.10 shall remain in the Fund and no payment may be made as described in § 74.12 to such individual or his or her survivors at any time after the date of receipt of the written refusal.

§ 74.12 — Order of payment.

Payment will be made in the order of date of birth pursuant to section 105(b) of the Act. Therefore, when funds are appropriated, payment will be made to the oldest eligible individual living on the date of the enactment of the Act, August 10, 1988, (or his or her statutory heirs) who has been located by the Administrator at that time. Payments will continue to be made until all eligible individuals have received payment.

§ 74.13 — Payment in the case of a deceased eligible individual.

In the case of an eligible individual as described in § 74.3 who is deceased, payment shall be made only as follows—

(a) If the eligible individual is survived by a spouse who is living at the time of payment, such payment shall be made to such surviving spouse.

(b) If there is no surviving spouse as described in paragraph (a) of this subsection, such payment shall be made in equal shares to all children of the eligible individual who are living at the time of payment.

(c) If there is no surviving spouse described in paragraph (a) of this section, and if there are no surviving children as described in paragraph (b) of this section, such payment shall be made in equal shares to the parents of the deceased eligible individual who are living at the time of payment.

(d) If there are no surviving spouses, children or parents as described in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section, the amount of such payment shall remain in the Fund and may be used only for the purposes set forth in section 106(b) of the Act.

§ 74.14 — Determination of the relationship of statutory heirs.

(a) A spouse of a deceased eligible individual must establish his or her marriage by one (or more) of the following:

(1) A copy of the public record of marriage, certified or attested;

(2) An abstract of the public record, containing sufficient data to identify the parties, the date and place of marriage, and the number of prior marriages by either party if shown on the official record, issued by the officer having custody of the record or other public official authorized to certify the record;

(3) A certified copy of the religious record of marriage;

(4) The official report from a public agency as to a marriage which occurred while the deceased eligible individual was employed by such agency;

(5) An affidavit of the clergyman or magistrate who officiated;

(6) The original certificate of marriage accompanied by proof of its genuineness;

(7) The affidavits or sworn statements of two or more eyewitnesses to the ceremony;

(8) In jurisdictions where “Common Law” marriages are recognized, the affidavits or certified statements of the spouse setting forth all of the facts and circumstances concerning the alleged marriage, such as the agreement between the parties at the beginning of their cohabitation, places and dates of residences, and whether children were born as the result of the relationship. This evidence should be supplemented by affidavits or certified statements from two or more persons who know as the result of personal observation the reputed relationship which existed between the parties to the alleged marriage, including the period of cohabitation, places of residences, whether the parties held themselves out as husband and wife and whether they were generally accepted as such in the communities in which they lived; or

(9) Any other evidence which would reasonably support a finding by the Administrator that a valid marriage actually existed.

(b) A child should establish that he or she is the child of a deceased eligible individual by one of the following types of evidence:

(1) A birth certificate showing that the deceased eligible individual was the child’s parent;

(2) An acknowledgment in writing signed by the deceased eligible individual;

(3) Evidence that the deceased eligible individual has been identified as the child’s parent by a judicial decree ordering the deceased eligible individual to contribute to the child’s support or for other purposes; or

(4) Any other evidence that reasonably supports a finding of a parent-child relationship, such as—

(i) A certified copy of the public record of birth or a religious record showing that the deceased eligible individual was the informant and was named as the parent of the child;

(ii) Affidavits or sworn statements of a person who knows that the deceased eligible individual accepted the child as his or hers; or

(iii) Information obtained from public records or a public agency, such as school or welfare agencies, which shows that with the deceased eligible individual’s knowledge, the deceased eligible individual was named as the parent of the child.

(c) Except as may be provided in paragraph (b) of this section, evidence of the relationship by an adopted child must be shown by a certified copy of the decree of adoption. In jurisdictions where petition must be made to the court for release of adoption documents or information, or where the release of such documents or information is prohibited, a revised birth certificate will be sufficient to establish the fact of adoption.

(d) The relationship of a step-child to a deceased eligible individual shall be demonstrated by—

(1) Evidence of birth to the spouse of the deceased eligible individual as required by paragraphs (e) and (f) of this section;

(2) Evidence of adoption as required by section (b) of this section when the step-child was adopted by the spouse;

(3) Other evidence which reasonably supports the finding of a parent-child relationship between the child and the spouse;

(4) Evidence that the step-child was either living with or in a parent-child relationship with the deceased eligible individual at the time of the eligible individual’s death; and

(5) Evidence of the marriage of the deceased eligible individual and the step-child’s natural or adoptive parent, as required by paragraph (a) of this section.

(e) A parent of a deceased eligible individual may establish his or her parenthood of the deceased eligible individual by providing one of the following types of evidence:

(1) A birth certificate that shows the person to be the deceased eligible individual’s parent;

(2) An acknowledgment in writing signed by the person before the eligible individual’s death; or

(3) Any other evidence which reasonably supports a finding of such a parent-child relationship, such as—

(i) A certified copy of the public record of birth or a religious record showing that the person was the informant and was named as the parent of the deceased eligible individual;

(ii) Affidavits or sworn statements of persons who know the person had accepted the deceased eligible individual as his or her child; or

(iii) Information obtained from public records or a public agency such as school or welfare agencies, which shows that with the deceased eligible individual’s knowledge, the person had been named as parent of the child.

(f) An adoptive parent of a deceased eligible individual must show one of the following as evidence—

(1) A certified copy of the decree of adoption and such other evidence as may be necessary; or

(2) In jurisdictions where petition must be made to the court for release of such documents or information, or where release of such documents or information is prohibited, a revised birth certificate showing the person as the deceased eligible individual’s parent will suffice.

§ 74.15 — Notice of the right to appeal a finding of ineligibility.

Persons determined to be ineligible by the Administrator will be notified in writing of the determination, the right to petition for a reconsideration of the determination of ineligibility to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, and the right to submit any documentation in support of eligibility.

§ 74.16 — Procedures for filing an appeal.

A request for reconsideration shall be made to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights within 60 days of the receipt of the notice from the Administrator of a determination of ineligibility. The request shall be made in writing, addressed to the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, P.O. Box 65808, Washington, DC 20035-5808. Both the envelope and the letter of appeal itself must be clearly marked: “Redress Appeal.” A request not so addressed and marked shall be forwarded to the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, or the official designated to act on his behalf, as soon as it is identified as an appeal of eligibility. An appeal that is improperly addressed shall be deemed not to have been received by the Department until the Office receives the appeal, or until the appeal would have been so received with the exercise of due diligence by Department personnel.

§ 74.17 — Action on appeal.

(a) The Assistant Attorney General or the official designated to act on his behalf shall:

(1) Review the original determination;

(2) Review additional information or documentation submitted by the individual to support a finding of eligibility;

(3) Notify the petitioner when a determination of ineligibility is reversed on appeal; and

(4) Inform the Redress Administrator.

(b) Where there is a decision affirming the determination of ineligibility, the letter to the individual shall include a statement of the reason or reasons for the affirmance.

(c) A decision of affirmance shall constitute the final action of the Department on that redress appeal.