I've learned that only West Coast and Hawaiian Japanese and Japanese Americans were forcibly detained in the Internment Camps under Executive Order 9066. Is there a reason more didn't relocate themselves to the East? I assume moving/relocation costs would be a barrier for some, but wouldn't that cost be seen as worth it by many to maintain their freedom?
Excuse me if this isn't considered a reliable source, but a number of Japanese-Americans re-settled from the camps into cities outside the exclusion zone: Source
Japanese-Americans had to express loyalty to the United States and (if they were eligible) a willingness to serve in the armed forces. It was also not an easy process:
Pushing Japanese Americans out of the camps proved more difficult than anticipated, however. By the end of 1942, only 884 inmates (including students) had opted for resettlement. Though in theory the WRA encouraged leave, the application process remained "cumbersome, tedious, and time-consuming." In order to relocate, Japanese Americans had to secure an outside sponsor, furnish proof of employment or education, and submit themselves to FBI background checks.
Most Japanese-Americans in Hawaii were not interned, btw.