Japanese Americans in line to register with the War Relocation Authority

Japanese Americans wait in line to register with the War Relocation Authority, San Francisco, California, April 1942.

A government agency, the War Relocation Authority was tasked with removing “enemy aliens” from designated zones. Local authorities on the West Coast forced all “persons of Japanese ancestry” to register. They were then deported, first to temporary “assembly centers” and from there to relocation centers.