JACL's mission is to secure and uphold the human and civil rights of Americans of Japanese ancestry and others and to promote and preserve the cultural heritage and values of Japanese Americans.



JACL was organized in 1929 as an educational/social action group in response to prejudice and discrimination directed toward Americans of Japanese ancestry. It is the largest and one of the oldest national Asian American organizations.



Over the years, JACL has helped to overturn more than 600 discriminatory laws and statutes. Some of the discriminatory laws that the JACL helped repeal or amend include the following:



>..The Cable Act of 1922 which revoked the citizenship of American women married to aliens.



>..The Emergency Detention Act of 1950 which permitted persons to be apprehended and detained on probable cause only.



>..The elimination of discriminatory immigration quotas on Asian and Pacific Rim countries and the right for Isseis to become naturalized citizens with passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.



>..The eliminationnation of race as a factor in immigration on 1965 with passage of a law that amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. This amendment removed race as a barrier to immigration and added a system of preferences in extending immigrant visas.