The Nation’s Oldest and Largest Asian American/Pacific Islander Civil Rights Organization
Est. 1929
Join our community in the movement for social justice!
The Japanese American Citizens League is a national organization whose mission is to secure and safeguard the civil and human rights of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans who are affected by injustice and bigotry/ The leaders and members of the JACL also work to promote and preserve the heritage and legacy of the Japanese American Community.
JACL News
JACL Statements
Weekly Digest
JACL Blog!
Check Out These Upcoming Events!
Our chapters or partners are always hosting events! Be sure to check out one in your local area. You can click through the calendar for more information.
If you have an event for your chapter or you’d like us to share here and in our weekly digest newsletter, please fill out the contact form at the bottom of the homepage!
Resources for Members and Supporters
2026 JACL National Scholarship Program
The JACL has been helping students achieve their educational dreams with the National Scholarship and Awards Program since 1946. The program currently offers over 30 awards, with an annual total of over $70,000 in scholarships to qualified students nationwide.
The National Scholarship and Awards Program offers scholarships to students who are entering freshmen, undergraduate, graduate, law, in the creative & performing arts, and those with financial need. All scholarships are one-time awards.
The Japanese American Experience - Education Website and Video Series
The Japanese American Experience is the Japanese American Citizens League’s (JACL) acclaimed curriculum guide containing a summary of the history of Japanese Americans, a chronology of important dates, a resource listing of books, videos, and websites, learning activities for the classroom, and an appendix with photos and copies of primary documents from the incarceration era.
Learn More and Join Us in Our Fight Against the Alien Enemies Act!
The 1798 laws known collectively as the “Alien and Sedition Acts” were a set of four bills targeting immigrants under the guise of war. While three of the acts have since expired or been repealed, the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) remains in effect to this day.
Over 80 years after it was used to detain 17,000 Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans during World War II, without evidence of wrongdoing, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 has resurfaced. On March 15, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order to invoke the law to deport Venezuelan nationals to a prison in El Salvador—without notice or due process available under the immigration laws. The AEA allows the government to detain and remove non-citizens from “hostile nations without evidence of a threat to national security.” Until repealed, it remains a sweeping tool to target communities under the guise of national security.
From Social Media
Links to all JACL Social Media!
Youth in JACL!
The National Youth/Student Council (NY/SC) is a body of student and young professional leaders representing their peers on the district and national levels of the JACL. Together we develop young leaders that support one another, engage in advocacy on a national level, and are empowered to make the change they want to see in their schools, workplaces, and communities.
The YPC is an affinity group within the JACL for self-identifying young professionals and provides a space for sharing experiences, building and deepening relationships, and collective growth through monthly virtual community spaces, innovative inter-chapter programming, and open forums for uplifting advocacy, resources, and encouraging direct action and dialogue.
JACL Thanks Our Generous Sponsors!
Contact
Feel free to contact us with any questions using this form!
Email: policy@jacl.org
Phone
Washington, D.C. Office - (202) 223-1240
San Francisco Office - (415) 921-5225