The Memorial's construction was authorized by federal statute PL 102-502 and signed into law by President George Bush (1924-, Pres. 1989-1993) on October 24, 1992 following the passage of the Civil Liberties Act (1988) and formal federal apology to the Japanese-American community for the unlawful wartime internment in the 1940s. The structure of the Memorial was designed by architect Davis Buckley while the Memorial Court's central statue of Bronze Cranes trapped in barbed wire was created by the Japanese-American artist Nina A. Akamu (1955-). The site was dedicated in November 2000, turned over to the national government in 2002, and has since remained under the care of and been maintained by the National Parks