Karah Hughes

Prof. Jan Babcock

ENGL 137H

10.11.2021

To be American is both to have a physical citizenship and a mindset; it requires both

tangible documentation and the subscription to the ideologies most essential to American culture.

Yet, in countless instances in history, people who subscribe to the ideologies have been denied

citizenship or the rights associated with citizenship. The image of a woman and child in front of

a car is ofs Fumiko Hayashida and her daughter Natalie waiting for their ferry to start their long

journey through the Japanese Internment system during the end of World War II(Kelly, Brian).

The second image depicts an anonymous Hispanic man being patted down by an agent of U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Both images were appeals to the kairos through mass

publication on news outlets and hold a strong grip on the pathos evoked from the audience that

combine to express the same emerging ideology that human rights must be respected regardless

of legal status.

The kairos of both situations was heavily intertwined with the struggle between

xenophobia and inclusion, in which the xenophobia was deeply rooted in the government while

the inclusivity efforts were struggling to take a meaningful hold through extra-governmental

measures. Historically, the United States has taken a very conservative stance on immigration,

which has harbored xenophobic sentiments that also manifests as racism. The country swings

between waves of isolationism and full engagement in foreign affairs depending on the economic

and personal benefits of the given international situation. The Chinese Exclusion act of 1882 that
immediately followed the surplus of Chinese immigrants building the transcontinental railroad,

the Nationality Act of 1940 juxtaposed with the Bracero program, and even the ostracization of

Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants until they had a usefulness to some sort of political agenda

(such as voting power for Boss Tweed and other political machines in the 1880s) illustrate how

the United States government acts purely in ethnocentric self-interest and only makes temporary

exceptions when the utility of another ethnic group is proven. Anti-Asian sentiments were high

surrounding the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as the ignorant belief that ethnicity and race determine

political loyalties spread through both the government and the general public. Thus, it's not

surprising at all that the government enacted Executive Order 9066, which sent all Americans of

Japanese descent to internment camps(“Japanese Internment Camps”). Similarly, the need to

create a whole federal law enforcement agency just for immigration and customs in 2003 in the

wake of 9/11 and the subsequent fear surrounding all immigrants seems justified in theory but

their enforcement of laws is equally as questionable as Order 9066(“U.S. Immigration

Timeline”). Some progressive actions have been taken to ensure the rights of immigrants, like

the installation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA program, but these

programs are constantly at risk of being recalled(“DACA”). Unfortunately, the kairos

surrounding immigrants and American citizens alike of various ethnicities has always been

unfavorable unless they can be exploited.

While the stances of the subjects differ slightly, both images evoke an empathetic

response to the dehumanized or overpowered subjects. The tags hanging from Fumiko and

Natalie Hayashida dehumanize them, they are depicted as luggage or numbers, reduced to the

information on the cards. Dehumanization is one of the most common tactics to justify

oppression; once the individual humanity is removed from a person or group of people,
unspeakable things can be done to them without guilt. This explains depictions of ethnic groups

as monsters or animals in propaganda. But the Hayashidas’ image tells a story of humanity

despite the dehumanization. The stoic resistance and sleeping innocence depicted in the image

draws out an empathy, especially since the audience knows the immediate fate of the woman and

child. Similarly, the vulnerable position the man is forced in by the officer leaves him

defenseless, also drawing an empathetic response. Moreover, the empathy does not only stem

from the physical stance of the man (which is common procedure) but also from the infinite

possibilities of how the man got to that position and where he will go from there. The audiences

know that the subjects of both pictures will face inhumane treatment at the hands of the federal

government, which is supposed to ensure the unalienable rights of documented citizens and at a

minimum the right to life of non-citizens.

The citizenship status of the subjects differ, thus portraying slightly different

emerging ideologies through different forms of media that can be generalized into one: human

rights cannot be sacrificed for political agendas. Occurring in the 1940s, the image of Fumiko

and Natalie were published countless times in newspapers, the most consumed form of media at

the time. This way, their image could reach the most people possible to spread the ideology that

people of Japanese descent can still have humanity and can still be loyal Americans despite what

the country of Japan does.. The image of the man likewise was broadcasted on the most

consumed media forms of its day: the television and the internet. The image was used during

segments on hispanic news channels to precaution people about their rights as undocumented

citizens and to advise how to legally avoid dentention and deportation (Felix, Melvin). Thus,

these media outlets stand for the belief that regardless of documentation, everyone has the same

right to live and work in the United States. There isn’t much background information for this
specific image of the man and the officer, and while the man could have been a serious criminal,

it is more likely that the officer received his warrant off of a negligible offense or, even more

likely, solely off probable cause. No matter what the criminal record is of the man in the picture,

he does not deserve the conditions he will most likely see in the detention centers. In both

images, the government cast aside the human rights of people living in the United States in order

to continue to perpetuate their xenophobia and racism.

Regardless of legal citizenship status, race, ethnicity, gender, or countless other labels,

humans all deserve basic rights to life, liberty, and pursuing happiness. These three unalienable

rights are the foundation of the United States. The United States government has forsaken this

foundational ideology far too many times since its birth, all due to political agendas and

prejudices. Yet if the case of Japanese Internment proves to have any precedence, then it seems

that the deportation crisis on the United States-Mexico border will only be solved through a

Supreme Court win, which will prove the successful emergence of the aforementioned ideology

of inclusion. Under President Biden’s current term, he has promised more effective procedures

for processing people seeking asylum (The White House), although this has yet to be truly

proven through actions.

 Bibliography:

“DACA.” National Immigration Law Center, 4 Oct. 2021, https://www.nilc.org/issues/daca/.

“Fact Sheet: The Biden Administration Blueprint for a Fair, Orderly and Humane Immigration

System.” The White House, The United States Government, 29 July 2021,

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/27/fact-sheet-the-biden-administr

ation-blueprint-for-a-fair-orderly-and-humane-immigration-system/.

History.com Editors. “Japanese Internment Camps.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29

Oct. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation.

History.com Editors. “U.S. Immigration Timeline.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 21

Dec. 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/immigration-united-states-timeline.

Kelly, Brian. “Oldest Remaining Survivor of Japanese American Internment Camps Passes

Away.” Bainbridge Island Review, Bainbridge Island Review, 5 Nov. 2014,

https://www.bainbridgereview.com/news/oldest-remaining-survivor-of-japanese-american-internment-ca

mps-passes-away.

Felix, Melvin. “Inmigrante Hispano Muere En Florida Tres Días Después De Haber Pasado a

Manos De Ice.” Univision, 9 May 2016,

https://www.univision.com/noticias/indocumentados/inmigrante-hispano-muere-en-florida-tres-dias-desp

ues-de-haber-pasado-a-manos-de-ice.

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