As members of the Trump administration have raised the specter of a Muslim registry and instituted a immigration ban against people from Muslim majority countries, they have cited the unconstitutional incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II as the precedent. As the documentary And Then They Came for Us demonstrates, the registration and incarceration of Japanese Americans was one of the worst violations of constitutional rights in American history. The U.S. government lied about the threat of espionage to justify the incarceration. Not a single person was ever convicted of espionage or treason.
As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 which was signed by President Roosevelt on Feb. 19, 1942, the film documents through the use of photos taken by Dorothea Lange and others, the damage this order did to 120,000 people, two thirds of whom were American citizens. Featuring George Takei and many others who were incarcerated, And Then They Came for Us, demonstrates the importance of speaking up against any efforts to register or ban Muslims today. Knowing our history is the first step in making sure we do not repeat it. And Then They Came for Us is a cautionary tale for these dark times.
| Directed by | Abby Ginzberg, Ken Schneider |
| Written by | Abby Ginzberg |