A U.S. Senator has compared the impeachment inquiry into the president with the lack of due process which lead to the incarceration of over 100,000 Japanese Americans during WWII.

It looks to me like, so far, [House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff] and the speaker are going to give about as much due process [to the president] as the federal government gave our Japanese American friends during World War II

Sen. John Kennedy

There are several reasons why this comparison is deeply flawed. Here are just a few:

1. The president is getting hearings where witnesses are questioned and cross-examined. Over a hundred thousand Japanese Americans received no hearing, no trial, no charges, yet were incarcerated for over 3 years.
2. The hearings are being televised so the public can see and draw their own conclusions. The more than 100,000 incarcerated Japanese Americans received no hearing, and the discussions about the decision to force them from their homes and into incarceration were not broadcast to the nation, nor was the public included in the decision.
3. If there is a vote to impeach the president, it could pass the House, and fail in the Senate. In that case, the president will continue to serve out his term (just as former President Clinton did). If he is impeached by both the chambers of Congress, he will simply be removed from the Presidency. Unless civil or criminal charges are filed, the president faces zero risk of losing his homes or businesses, nor will he face time in prison.
   
   About 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced from their homes. They could keep only what they could carry, and had to sell off their possessions, homes, and businesses, often at fire-sale prices. Many, if not most, lost their businesses and homes as they could not pay their mortgages and taxes during their incarceration.
   
   After 3-4 years of incarceration, many had only the clothes on their backs, a train ticket home, and $25. The president will lose none of his possessions or investments even in the worst-case scenario.

4. Although Supreme Court cases (most notably Korematsu v. US) ruled the incarceration of Japanese Americans constitutional, it was arguably ruled unconstitutional by Chief Justice Roberts in Trump v. Hawaii. He wrote:

Korematsu was gravely wrong the day it was decided, has been overruled in the court of history, and—to be clear—’has no place in law under the Constitution.’

Chief Justice Roberts in Trump v. Hawaii

Korematsu Ruling on Japanese Internment: Condemned But Not Overruled – From History.com

There are those that argue Korematsu still stands, but that is up for debate.

In contrast, the impeachment of a U.S. president is defined in the Constitution.

Article I, Section 2, Clause 5:
“The House of Representatives … shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.”

Article I, Section 3, Clause 6-7:
“The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States; but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.”

Article II, Section 4:
“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

I invite the senator from Louisiana and any who agree with his assessment to:

• Speak with survivors of the Japanese American incarceration, like, for example, my mother
• Read the constitution, particularly the clauses cited above
• Study the history of Japanese American Incarceration, in particular the findings of the Committee on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC)

After they do, I think they will agree that there is no comparison between the current impeachment inquiry and the decision to deprive 120,000 people of home, property, and liberty.