The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (Pub.L. 100–383, title I, August 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 904, 50a U.S.C. § 1989b et seq.) is a United States federal law that granted reparations to Japanese Americans who had been interned by the United States government during World War II. The act was sponsored by California's Democratic Congressman Norman Mineta, an internee as a child, and Wyoming's Republican Senator Alan K. Simpson, who had met Mineta while visiting an internment camp. The third co-sponsor was California Senator Pete Wilson. The bill was supported by the majority of Democrats in Congress, while the majority of Republicans voted against it. The act was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.
The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was signed by President Ronald Reagan in an effort to repay a terrible wrong that had been done to Japanese Americans and Japanese visitors to this country during World War II, when thousands were placed in internment camps, simply because of their heritage. The act awarded these people or their descendants $20,000 each to make up for what they had suffered. Each one also received an official apology from the President of the United States. The act specifically stated that the government had forced these internments based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership."
(direct quote from the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which can be found on U.S. government websites)
