In June 2026, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) announced its plans to shut down the San Francisco National Archives facility in San Bruno, California and NARA-Chicago.
What’s at Stake: Housed within SF NARA are some 9,711 files of persons born in Japan, 2,300 with Japanese surnames, and 243 Japanese born in Hawaii.
The imminent closure will result in the likely loss of public access to original documents crucial to the Japanese American community. These include:
- Japanese American A-Files (alien files)
- Japanese Picture bride case files.
- District court case file Korematsu v. U.S. (coram nobis legal case)
- Citizenship Renunciation Case files
- Abo v. Clark case files where Attorney Wayne Collins represented Japanese Americans
- Farmer Home Administration (R96)
Sources say these materials could be moved as early as this September of 2026.
The loss of access to these records would have far-reaching and lasting consequences for the Japanese American community. Historians, researchers, students, and community members who rely heavily on them to document, study, and preserve this experience will no longer continue to do so.
Digitization is not enough. We cannot allow this important public resource to disappear. Please join us in urging NARA and our elected representatives to stop the closure of the San Francisco National Archives in San Bruno and NARA-Chicago and keep these archives accessible to the communities they serve.
Take action by signing this petition and writing letters in opposition addressed to Edward Forst (Acting Archivist of the United States), US Representatives Kevin Mullin (CA-15) and Ro Khanna (CA-17), and your local Congressional representatives. For more information on how to take action, please visit the SONA (Save Our National Archives) website.
