<p>Prior to our entry into WWII, Japanese-Americans controlled virtually all of California’s fruit and vegetable distribution; a multi-million dollar business that has since grown into a multi-billion dollar business. One point I’d like to add is that there was a financial incentive to put Japanese-Americans in internment camps and confiscate their businesses and property. Overnight, their control of a vast portion of California agriculture evaporated, never to be regained. Once released from the camps years later, many Japanese-Americans started over again as khaki-wearing gardeners, work we often see undocumented workers performing today. However, through hard work and discipline these folks weren’t mowing lawns for long and the majority of their children worked hard in school and graduated from college. In fact, I have a friend whose parents were actually kicked out of an internment camp and sent back to Japan. After the war the father worked as an interpreter during the American occupation of Japan because he could speak both English and Japanese. The family came back to the US as soon as possible. My friend graduated from UCLA, Hastings Law School, and became the youngest Asian federal judge in US history. His Japanese-American wife rose up the ranks of the INS to become a commissioner. I’m jealous because they both retired at 55 with full federal pensions!</p>