[1] It was located within the Gila River Indian Reservation (over their objections) near the town of Sacaton, about 30 mi (48.3 km) southeast of Phoenix.

[2] The rationale for internment was fear of the threat of sabotage on the West Coast by the large Japanese American population.

This order authorized the Secretary of War and military commanders to designate areas to detain people living in the United States who might be a threat to the country and its interests.

The order stated: "The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom, such transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary".

The forced removal of Japanese Americans from the "affected areas" of California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona started from April to May 1942.

Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, an official apology and authorization to provide restitution to survivors and descendants of inmates.

Gila River War Relocation Center was one of ten internment camps, operated by the WRA located throughout the American interior west.

A representative of every block was nominated to the council however, only Nisei (second generation U.S. born Japanese Americans) were allowed to hold the offices.

Incarcerees also built a theater for plays and films, and playgrounds, and planted trees to relieve the desolation of the arid site.

Because of this, some families were housed in the mess hall or recreation buildings, where they had to use hanging blankets as makeshift walls for visual privacy.

Remaining are such elements as the road grid, concrete slab foundations, manholes, cisterns, several rock alignments, and dozens of small ponds.

During the Ronald Reagan Administration, the federal government acknowledged that it had committed an injustice against Japanese Americans with this program.