![]() ![]() In reaching that conclusion we do not come to the underlying constitutional issues which have been argued. "We are of the view that Mitsuye Endo should be given her liberty. "Loyal" Japanese Americans could not be imprisoned without cause. The Supreme Court issued its final ruling on December 18, 1944. Endo refused, choosing to remain imprisoned so that she could represent her fellow Japanese Americans. The WRA eventually offered Endo an immediate leave permit, if she would abandon her case. There, Endo and Purcell continued to appeal their case, pushing it through delays to the Supreme Court. The legal team believed that Endo would be accepted by even the most suspicious American judge: She was a government employee, Christian, knew only English, had never visited Japan, and had a brother in the army. But relocating could derail her case, and so Endo remained at Tule Lake.Ī year later, Endo signed the so-called "loyalty questionnaire." She moved to Topaz Relocation Center in Arizona. In fact, that's partially why she had joined the legal case. She could fit into the mainstream American social scene wherever she went. Her friends, like many young adult Nisei, applied to "relocate" to the midwest or east coast. While her legal battle began, Endo remained in Tule Lake Relocation Center. The government could not imprison Japanese Americans without trial, they argued. Purcell filed the petition on July 12, 1942, in federal district court in San Francisco. Though hesitant, Endo agreed to file a habeas corpus petition. ![]() Soon, she received an unusual proposal from lawyer James Purcell: Would she sue the United States government? Their legal battle, backed by the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), was one of several filed by protesting Japanese Americans. However, Endo's case was upended when Japanese Americans were "evacuated" from the west coast that spring.Įndo and her family were sent first to Sacramento Assembly Center and then Tule Lake Relocation Center. Endo joined the legal challenge against their firings. The California government fired Endo and approximately 400 other employees, simply because of their Japanese ancestry. The attack on Pearl Harbor sent their lives into sudden chaos. She attended public school, secretarial school, and then took a clerical job with the California state government. She and her three siblings grew up like many other Nisei children (first generation Japanese American citizens). Mitsuye Endo was born in Sacramento, California in 1920. ![]() "They said it's for the good of everybody, and so I said, well if that's it, I'll go ahead and do it." ![]()
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