; Whereas the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, authorized by Congress in 1980 to review the facts and circumstances surrounding the relocation and internment of Japanese Americans under Executive Order 9066 (7 Fed. Reg. 1407 (February 25, 1942)), concluded that— (1) the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), is overruled by the court of history; (2) a grave personal injustice was done to the United States citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry who, without individual review or any probative evidence against them, were excluded, removed, and detained by the United States during World War II; and (3) the exclusion, removal, and detention of United States citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry was motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership; Whereas the overturning of the conviction of Fred Korematsu and the findings of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians influenced the decision by Congress to pass the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 ( 50 U.S.C. 4211 et seq.) to request a Presidential apology and the symbolic payment of compensation to people of Japanese ancestry who lost liberty or property due to discriminatory actions of the Federal Government; Whereas, on August 10, 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 ( 50 U.S.C. 4211 et seq.), stating, [H]ere we admit a wrong; here we reaffirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law. ; Whereas, on January 15, 1998, President Clinton awarded the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States, to Fred Korematsu, stating, [i]n the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls: Plessy, Brown, Parks. To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.