On this 75th anniversary of the order to intern Japanese-Americans, many are seeing parallels to the immigration ban

In 1988, the final full year of his second White House term, Ronald Reagan apologized to the 120,000 Japanese-Americans who’d been confined to internment camps during World War II, of which there were 10 around the nation, and of which Manzanar is the most notorious. The survivors of the camps also received reparations, a rare concession by the American government. “Here we admit a wrong,” Reagan said. “Here we reaffirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law.” The announcement was made in San Francisco, whose Japantown was cleared out by interment, which began in 1942, about three months after Pearl Harbor.

Some of the survivors of the camps, many of them now aged, watched as Reagan, in a mustard-colored suit, apologized for the sins of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

“I think this is a fine day,” the president added.