Relocating out of the camps was possible but limited. Through the efforts of the National Japanese Student Relocation Council (NJSRC), those who were college age could leave the camps on three conditions: 1) if they got accepted from a college that allowed Japanese Americans to attend; 2) if they had the financial means to pay for college; and 3) if they were cleared by the FBI. Getting into college was always a challenge, and it was proven to be particularly difficult for the Japanese American youths during war time. Many colleges on the mainland did not accept Japanese Americans, and obviously a lot of young Niseis lacked the funds to attend college. Furthermore, many parents did not want their children to leave their side and go out to the hostile world without any family support. Eventually, about 4,300 students were able to leave camps for colleges. St Olaf, among a handful of liberal art colleges in the Midwest that accepted Nisei students, welcomed 11 young Japanese American men and women to Northfield, Minnesota.

Another way to get out of the camp was through the military; depending on the time, some Niseis volunteered to be part of the 442nd, the segregated Japanese Unit, or went into the Military Intelligence Service. Others were drafted. In addition, Japanese Americans could possibly leave the camp and work as long as they secured a sponsor and successfully passed the “loyalty” question in the “Indefinite Leave Clearance” questionnaire. The questions on the survey themselves, however, were problematic in their wording, causing confusions and strife among many internees.

The camps demoralized and drove a wedge into the Japanese American community through the underlying stress, uncertainty, and anxiety of what was going to happen to them. The entire experience of being put into camps, breaking up their families, questioning their loyalty by the government, and doubting their American identity and citizenship had a profound effect on the Japanese American psyche at the time, marking one of the darker chapters in American history.