Homeland Insecurity
Aliens, Citizens and Wartime Challenges to American Civil Liberties
'Security subsists, too, in fidelity to
freedom's first principles.' - Justice Anthony Kennedy
"Set in World War II, but with an eye to the present and future, HOMELAND INSECURITY offers a unique, thematic commentary on the experiences of men and women of Italian and German ancestry who were relocated, interned or excluded. Award-winning author Stephen Fox mines government documents—especially those of the FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service—to assess the impact on detainees and their families of profiling, FBI bungling, military commissions, secret arrests, suspension of due process and habeas corpus, deportation, extraordinary rendition, secondary citizenship and other forms of harassment.
HOMELAND INSECURITY highlights the selective embrace of historical lessons. During the war, policymakers, the media and the public chose only those messages (lessons) that supported their assumptions. When this lack of judgment coincided with the prejudices and insecurities of J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the result was tragic, an assault on the Bill of Rights, the ruin of countless reputations and family well-being and lost lives.
Told through intimate stories of men and women of European ancestry, HOMELAND INSECURITY questions whether this assault on Constitutional and civil liberties can and will be repeated." - Ron Standerfer for Reader Views
'A gem of a book, from engaging anecdote to personal narrative to sweeping history, and best of all, the connections between yesterday and today.' - John Christgau, author of '"Enemies': World War II Alien Internment"
'Ahead of the times or timely? So much of what's being said now is just what you wrote about. I think your book is one of the most important I have read.' - Dave T.
'A must read for all Americans concerned about their freedom.' - Ron Standerfer for Reader Views