The United States government apologized for the internment camps in 1988, when Congress passed and President Reagan signed it into legislation. The first section of the act acknowledged the injustice of the evacuation, relocation, and internment and apologized on the behalf of the people of the United States for these said actions against American citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry. The act also provided for restitution to those of Japanese ancestry that were interned and provided for a “public education fund to finance efforts to inform the public about the internment of such individuals so as to prevent the recurrence of any similar event (Public Law 100-383).” The United States eventually disbursed more than $1.6 billion in reparations to those who had been interned and their heirs. Another purpose of the act was to discourage the occurrence of similar injustices and violations of future civil liberties and make a “more credible and sincere” any declarations of concern over other nations’ human rights violations by the United States. The second section of the act was an apology to those of Japanese Ancestry for the United States actions during World War II. (Public Law 100-383).