The Detainees of Crystal City

Kazumu Naganuma (front, center) was born in Peru, where his father was arrested. The whole family was then taken to a detention camp in Crysal City, Texas during WWII. Photo circa 1945, courtesy of the Naganuma Family.

To justify mass deportations, President Trump has invoked an old wartime law from 1798 called the Alien Enemies Act. This is currently being challenged in multiple court cases. The Alien Enemies Act has been used only a handful of times in American history – always during war. The last time came on the heels of Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into World War II, with the internment of Japanese and German-Americans. That history is familiar to many people. But there’s another story, that even today, most people don’t know about. During WWII, the Axis countries—Germany and Japan—began detaining Americans abroad: journalists, businessmen, missionaries, anyone who could be a potential spy.

Wolfgang Harten, a German civilian, was arrested in Ecuador, then detained in the U.S. with his wife and 3 Ecuadorian-born children. Photo courtesy of his daughter, Karin Schramm.

In response, the Roosevelt Administration came up with an elaborate plan — they wanted people they could potentially exchange for these American prisoners of war.

So, they turned to Latin America, and began arresting Germans, Japanese and Italians who were living there and brought them—and their families—to detention camps in the U.S.

Today, we bring you some of their stories.

In 2019, survivors who spent part of their childhood at Crystal City, went on a pilgrimage to the former site of the camp. Libia Yamamoto (seated top left) and her sister Blanca were taken from Peru and detained in Texas for 4 years. They were eventually released with the help of a church in San Francisco. Another pilgrimage will take place fall of 2025.

This story was produced by JoAnn DeLuna and Nellie Gilles, and edited by Deborah George, Ben Shapiro and Joe Richman. Thank you to Libia, Chieko, Karin, Kaz and all the survivors who spoke with us. Special thanks to Teresa Van Hoy for her research and work with students at St. Mary's University. And to Jan Jarboe Russell, author of The Train to Crystal City: FDR's Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America's Only Family Internment Camp During World War II.