Willard Schmidt was the National Chief of Internal Security for the War Relocation Authority. In February of 1944 he was assigned to the Tule Lake Internment Center to act as its Chief of Internal Security and to assist in its transformation from an internment center into a segregation camp. Following executive 9066, the War Relocation Authority constructed 11 internment centers between 1942 and 1946 in order to segregate and house approximately 110,000 Japanese-American men, women and children. In 1943 the War Relocation Authority and Selective Service produced a two question "loyalty questionnaire" for Japanese internees to fill out. The questionnaire identified who might be considered appropriate for the armed services or repatriation outside the centers, and who might be considered a possible threat to national security. The questions proved confusing and those who answered "no" to both were removed from their respective internment centers and sent to the Tule Lake high-security segregation camp.

Internal security for the internment centers was maintained by a special police force composed largely of able-bodied evacuee residents and headed by a non-evacuee chief as well as a few non-evacuee assistants. Larger issues of misdemeanors and other similar offenses were ordinarily handled by the Project Director or by a judicial commission made up of evacuee residents. Tule Lake segregation center housed over 18,000 internees between 1942 and 1946. In addition to a heavily fortified perimeter Tule Lake was further isolated by the inclusion of a full battalion of soldiers accompanied by tanks. Tule Lake experienced a turbulent history including strikes, protests and an declaration of martial law which lasted from November 14th, 1943 until October 15, 1943. During martial law, over 350 dissidents were sent to the stockade and 1,200 internees were sent to Department of Justice internment camps.