C.B. Horrall

The following essay is excerpted from a letter sent by Los Angeles police chief C.B. Horrall to California attorney general Earl Warren on February 19, 1942. Horrall argues that the greatest threat to the security of the Los Angeles area comes from the American-born children of Japanese immigrants. According to Horrall, the majority of these Japanese Americans received the greater part of their education in Japan, where they were indoctrinated with Japanese militarist propaganda. Since they were born and raised in the United States, and are well versed in its language and customs, they freely associate and mingle in all areas of American life. This makes them better suited for intelligence gathering, according to Horrall, and these American-born Japanese would be able to provide valuable assistance to any Japanese invasion force.

The enemy alien presents numerous problems to...