During this period, Asian immigrants continued to face racial discrimination. In addition to first-generation immigrants whose permanent ineligibility for citizenship curtailed their civil and political rights, second-generation Asian Americans (who formally had birthright citizenship) continued to face segregation in schools, employment discrimination, and prohibitions on property and business ownership. The most severe discrimination against Asian Americans occurred during the height of World War II, when 110,000 to 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast were incarcerated in internment camps from 1942 to 1946. While roughly a third of those interned were issei (first-generation immigrants) who were ineligible for citizenship, the majority were nisei or sansei (second- and third-generation) who were citizens by birth.
