The 1990 Social Justice Commission of the Sons of Italy’s resolution asked for both full public disclosure of the injustices suffered by Italo-Americans, and an apology. Neither would be forthcoming, as the Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division makes clear in his letter—which mainly rehearses the redress given to Japanese Americans, as it compares their situation to the “relatively small number” of Germans and Italians affected. It would take another generation before the United States government would even “acknowledge” that these events happened.

The top document is a copy of the memo Attorney General Biddle ordered to be placed in the files of some internees and excludees. It ends with these words about the designation “potentially dangerous”, in bold letters: THIS CLASSIFICATION IS UNRELIABLE. IT IS HEREBY CANCELED AND SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A DETERMINATION OF DANGEROUSNESS OR OF ANY OTHER FACT.