U.S. lawmakers condemn podcast rhetoric regarding Chinese-American internment

U.S. lawmakers and the National Japanese American Historical Society (NJAHS) have condemned rhetoric from the podcast Timcast IRL regarding the potential mass internment of Chinese Americans during a hypothetical conflict with China.

During an August 14 episode, influencer Ian Crossland suggested the possibility of detaining Chinese Americans, questioning how their allegiances could be verified in the event of war. In a joint statement, Congresswomen Grace Meng and Judy Chu, along with Congressman Ted Lieu, warned that such comments invoke racist tropes that cast Asian Americans as perpetual foreigners and could fuel discrimination and violence.

The NJAHS expressed profound alarm, noting that the discussion echoes the historical precedent of Executive Order 9066, which led to the forced incarceration of over 125,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. The society characterized the podcast's debate as a demonstration of “dangerous amnesia” regarding the catastrophic loss of civil liberties experienced by Japanese Americans in the 1940s.