Radio Report: Washington lawmakers remember Japanese Americans forced into internment camps during WWII

February 19, 2026

Washington lawmakers paused Thursday to mark the Day of Remembrance, honoring Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes during World War II. John Sattgast reports from Olympia.

SATTGAST: Lawmakers remembered Japanese American families who were uprooted by a presidential order and sent to detention sites like Camp Harmony at the Puyallup fairgrounds.

Representative Brian Burnett, a Republican from Wenatchee, urged vigilance against repeating that injustice.

BURNETT: “Never again should any group be singled out and treated as less than fully American, less than fully human.”

SATTGAST: Walla Walla Representative Skyler Rude said remembering this history should guide leaders in how they respond during times of fear and uncertainty.

RUDE: “Remembrance, in my opinion, is an act of vigilance in itself. When rhetoric replaces responsibility, when those in positions of authority choose to raise the temperature rather than lower it, history shows us where that path can lead.”

SATTGAST: Puyallup Representative Cyndy Jacobsen also expressed her sadness that an internment camp once stood at the state fairgrounds in the district she represents.

House Resolution 4692 was adopted unanimously.

John Sattgast, the state Capitol.