Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., whose American-born parents were incarcerated as children during the World War II forced relocation of Japanese Americans, has drawn parallels between that historical episode and current immigration enforcement operations under President Donald Trump.

Takano returned home last Fourth of July to reports of immigration patrols sweeping through Southern California communities, with one constituent telling him about carrying a passport as proof of citizenship. The congressman, whose father was 2 years old and mother was 1 year old when their families were sent to detention camps, said he sees similarities between the circumstances.

"I do feel like there's a similarity of circumstance of my own 2-year-old father and my 1-year-old mother being labeled as enemy aliens and they're considered a danger to national security," Takano told The Associated Press. "Similar arguments have been made by this administration — that immigrants pose a grave danger to our country and it's for the security of our country that we're doing this."

Takano's grandfather arrived in the U.S. from Hiroshima and married a U.S.-born citizen, settling in Washington state where they operated a farming business. When the U.S. entered WWII after Pearl Harbor, they were among approximately 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly relocated. His father was sent to Tule Lake camp in California, while his mother went to Heart Mountain facility in Wyoming.

Trump's administration has pursued what it calls the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, with the goal of deporting 1 million people annually. The White House recently changed leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, with new Secretary Markwayne Mullin promising to keep the department out of headlines while facing pressure from conservative groups to maintain deportation efforts.

The 1988 Civil Liberties Act, signed by President Ronald Reagan, provided an official apology and $20,000 payments to Japanese Americans who were detained during WWII. Takano, the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said discussions are underway in Congress about potential redress for people affected by current immigration enforcement operations.