From left: Vinicius Taguchi, Don Tamaki, Peggy Nagae, Mitchell Matsumura (Photo: Courtesy of Mitchell Matsumura)
(Editor’s note: The following is a personal essay about the behind-the-scenes actions that went into the passage of R-1, Resolution in Support of Immigrant Communities Targeted by ICE at the 2026 JACL National Convention.)
By Mitchell Matsumura
At the 56th JACL National Convention, the JACL National Council adopted R-1, Resolution in Support of Immigrant Communities Targeted by ICE, co-sponsored by the Greater Los Angeles JACL and the Twin Cities JACL chapters. (see “JACL Is Change,” Aug. 14, 2026, pacificcitizen.org/jacl-is-change/)
In February 2026, after recalling the presence of over 100 ICE officers at the Japanese American National Museum in August 2025, I called the president of Twin Cities JACL, Vinicius Taguchi. Having known Minnesota went through the fatal shootings of Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by ICE, we decided on that first call that a resolution was necessary. We contacted the JACL Social Justice Action Committee and within two weeks they had 18 chapters supporting us. (Thank you to committee members Naoko Fujii, Dan Mayeda, Carol Kawase, Natsu Saito and Peggy Nagae for helping us write the resolution.)
At the place in Little Tokyo where scores of Japanese Americans gathered in 1942 to be bussed to concentration camps, more than 100 ICE officers swarmed the Japanese American National Museum during a news conference by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, which resulted in the arrest of one person. I personally joined protests beginning in August 2025, when ICE began staging on Terminal Island, the site of a former Japanese fishing village where 3,000 Japanese Americans were removed during WWll. After relentless protests, ICE departed Terminal Island in February 2026. Then in January 2026, a brutal ICE arrest occurred in front of the Miyako Hotel on First Street in the heart of Little Tokyo. Residents and visitors watched in horror as ICE forced a man into a van.
From left: Matthew Marumoto, Mitchell Matsumura, Carol Kawase, Vinicius Taguchi, Matt Weisbly (Photo: Courtesy of Mitchell Matsumura)
Vinicius Taguchi and I wanted the best person to present the resolution at the 2026 JACL National Convention in Las Vegas on July 30, 2026. There was only one choice: Don Tamaki, senior counsel at the law firm of Minami Tamaki LLP. He was on the legal team that overturned Korematsu v. United States.
Tamaki made an inspiring plea. “The Twin Cities and Greater L.A. JACL chapters deserve high praise for the resolution before you as does the National JACL for timely condemning the thousands of militarized federal agents descending upon urban and rural America to terrorize law abiding residents reminiscent of what happened to us. As Japanese Americans we have the moral standing to powerfully sound the alarm waking the nation that history is repeating itself. Let’s pass this resolution.”
We received several amendments at the resolution meeting at the convention. This one presented by Sebastian Carbajal, Pacific Southwest youth representative was especially well received, because it’s important that JACL chapters have a plan of action regarding an ICE arrest or deportation: “BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in a timely manner, that all JACL Chapters have a plan to follow up if an individual from outside the organization were to reach out to a local JACL chapter for assistance regarding an ICE arrest or deportation. Said chapter would provide support, whether that be in the form of reaching out to a local representative, or reaching out to another organization more prepared to handle said situations.”
I’m very proud of all the convention delegates that voted unanimously to pass the resolution. JACL now has a resolution that takes a stance on this critical immigration issue. As the resolution states: “We remember that during World War II, over 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry—immigrants as well as United States citizens—were detained and incarcerated for years without individualized charges, hearings, or meaningful due process under the Alien Enemies Act, Executive Order 9066, and related authorities.”
In closing, I’d like to quote a couple of excerpts from the resolution.
“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the National Council of the Japanese American Citizens League that we issue a statement calling on the Congress of the United States to ensure immigration enforcement practices that are accountable, transparent, and consistent with constitutional and human rights standards, including specifically the establishment of a clear, enforceable national use-of force standard governing the actions of immigration enforcement agents, as well as state or local officers enforcing immigration law, and imposing civil and/or criminal liability for agents and officers who violate such standard or the Constitution; requiring officers to display visible identification, use body cameras, and prohibit masked enforcement, absent documented necessity to ensure officer safety in particular situations; and prohibiting immigration enforcement entry onto private property without a judicial warrant; and
“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the statement to Congress issued by the National JACL call for the prohibition of detention or searches based on race, ethnicity, national origin, language ability or accents, workplaces, or perceived immigration status; and the protection of detainee rights through individualized judicial hearings, adequate medical and mental health care, appropriate language assistance, elimination of family separation, public reporting of deaths and abuses, and independent inspections of all facilities;”
(Note: The entire text of R-1 may be read here.)
Mitchell Matsumura is the president of the Greater Los Angeles JACL and a member of the Pacific Citizen editorial board.