Day 209: Crystal City Family Internment Camp (Detention Facility), Texas
📌APIA Every Day (209) - The Crystal City Family Internment Camp, established in Texas in 1942, was the only camp for Japanese individuals and families during World War II. While also housing German and Italian incarcerees, it primarily held Japanese Latin Americans forcibly removed from their countries and brought to the U.S. as part of a hostage exchange program with Japan, as well as Japanese Americans from the United States. At its peak in 1944, the camp held 3,374 incarcerees, with approximately 2,371 of Japanese descent.
The incarceration process typically began with the arrest of male heads of households, followed by the relocation of their families to Crystal City. Prior to arrival, incarcerees underwent mandatory disinfestation procedures at INS detention centers. The camp's layout included family bungalows, schools, and various facilities. Despite marginally better living conditions than other sites, it remained a place of confinement, surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers.
A unique aspect of Crystal City was its linguistic diversity. While many incarcerees were Japanese Americans, a significant number were Peruvian Japanese who primarily spoke Spanish. Following Japan's surrender in 1945, incarcerees faced complex decisions regarding repatriation. On December 11, 1945, ships departed from Seattle carrying Japanese, Japanese American, and Japanese Peruvian incarcerees back to Japan, while some families with American-born members faced difficult choices about whether to stay in the U.S. or relocate.
The camp operated until February 27, 1948. In the aftermath, many Japanese incarcerees, especially those from Latin America, found themselves in legal limbo, sometimes remaining in the U.S. as undocumented immigrants. The Crystal City detention facility represents a significant, yet often overlooked, aspect of the Japanese incarceration experience during World War II, highlighting the international scope of U.S. policies and their lasting impact on individuals and families of Japanese descent from various parts of the Americas.
LEARN MORE:
Densho Encyclopedia: Crystal City (detention facility)
Texas Public Radio: Texas Matters: The Secret History Of The Crystal City WWII Internment Camp
Historical Marker Database: Confinement Site - History of Crystal City Family Internment Camp
YouTube: Crystal City Family Internment Camp - World War II
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