Rep. Ted Lieu Delivered Bicameral Coalition Letter to Attorney General
Calling for Investigation of Racial Profiling of Asians
Click image to view the news release
|
On July 29, 2021, Rep. Ted Lieu delivered a bicameral coalition letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling for an investigation into the Department of Justice's "repeated, wrongful targeting of individuals of Asian descent for alleged espionage."
"Over the years, multiple people who happened to be of Asian descent have been falsely accused by the Department of Justice of espionage," including the false accusations of spying alleged against Wen Ho Lee, Sherry Chen, Xiaoxing Xi, Anming Hu, and many others. "The common thread in every one of these cases was a defendant with an Asian surname — and an innocent life that was turned upside down." "No person should be viewed by our government as more suspicious because of the individual’s race. We thus request an update on the mandated implicit bias training and request an investigation to determine whether the Department of Justice has a written or unwritten policy, program, pattern or practice of using race (or other civil rights classifications such as religion, gender and national origin) in targeting people for arrest, surveillance, security clearance denials or other adverse actions. We also specifically request whether, under the 'China Initiative,' there is a written or unwritten policy, program, pattern or practice to target people based on their race, ethnicity or national origin." 2021/07/31 South China Morning Post: US to retry University of Tennessee professor on fraud charges following mistrial, drawing outcry 2021/07/30 Rep. Ted Lieu: Rep. Lieu and 90 Members of Congress Urge DOJ Probe into Alleged Racial Profiling of Asians Axios: Nearly 100 members of Congress call for probe into DOJ's alleged racial profiling of Asians 2021/07/29 Rep. Ted Lieu: Bicameral coalition letter to AG Merrick Garland 2021/07/21 北美新视界: 国会众议员刘云平 (Ted Lieu)呼吁华社帮助调查司法部 |
Senate Committee Investigative Report on Abuse and Misconduct at DOC
Committee Investigation Report: Abuse and Misconduct at The Commerce Department
Click the image to read the report
On July 13, 2021, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Senate Committee) released a 37-page investigative report, "Abuse and Misconduct at the Commerce Department.
The investigation began after whistleblowers reported a variety of improper activities dating back to the mid-2000s involving abuses of authority, mismanagement, and reprisal against Department employees. Minority Staff conducted over 100 interviews and reviewed thousands of documents supporting allegations from over two dozen whistleblowers.
The investigative report followed a statement and fact sheet issued by Senate Committee Ranking Member Senator Roger Wicker and a report by the Washington Post on May 24, 2021. The abuse of authority includes targeting and investigation of individuals of Asian descent. https://bit.ly/3B1R0kA.
Findings of the report include:
"This unchecked race-based targeting disproportionately impacted employees of Chinese ancestry." (page 7)
On pages 12-13, the report identifies two specific Chinese American scientists subjected to ITMS criminal investigations and subsequent prosecutions by the Department of Justice:
According to the report (page 20), for more than a decade, the ITMS directed agents to engage in law enforcement activities with knowledge that no legal basis existed to support them. In a memo from 2005, George Lee, director of ITMS, acknowledged that the ITMS “may lack legal authority to conduct an appreciable portion of its investigative efforts, particularly criminal investigations.” He even predicted that agents could face “serious criminal and
civil liability,” including charges of “impersonation, theft, assault, and false imprisonment as well as “vulnerability to a Bivens action.” Nonetheless, Commerce Department officials allowed Lee and the ITMS to continue operating without proper authority.
On August 15, 2018, The Sherry Chen Legal Defense Fund submitted a whistleblower letter to the Inspector General Office to initiate an investigation. The cover letter explains the need to protect the whistleblower, ensure integrity of the process, and preserve evidence. No response has been received after more than 1,060 days. The whistleblower letter was turned over to the Senate Committee as part of the investigation.
Among the recommendations in the report are:
We thank Senator Roger Wicker and the Minority Staff for their leadership and due diligence in conducting this thorough investigation. The fact-based report is comprehensive and powerful in uncovering the abuse and misconduct at multiple levels at the Department of Commerce. Both Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration now have the responsibility to correct the wrongs in the Commerce Department immediately, as well as making necessary reforms and changes to improve transparency, oversight, and accountability and eliminate racial profiling and anti-Asian discrimination in federal departments and agencies.
Links and References
2021/07/17 CNN: Report finds little-known security unit in Commerce abused power and investigated employees of Chinese or Southeast Asian ancestry for years
2021/07/16 New York Times: ‘Rogue’ U.S. Agency Used Racial Profiling to Investigate Commerce Dept. Employees, Report Says
The Hill: Commerce office used racial profiling operating as 'rogue' police force: Senate report
Axios: Commerce unit went "rogue" with race-based investigations, Senate report says
USA Today: Senate report: 'Rogue' Commerce security unit targeted Asian-American employees
2021/07/14 TPM: New Minority Committee Report Details Rogue Police Force Investigating A Child, Costing Millions As Employees Watched Netflix
2021/07/13 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Press Release: Wicker Releases Committee Report Revealing Abuse at the Commerce Department
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee Investigative Report: Abuse and Misconduct at The Commerce Department
The investigation began after whistleblowers reported a variety of improper activities dating back to the mid-2000s involving abuses of authority, mismanagement, and reprisal against Department employees. Minority Staff conducted over 100 interviews and reviewed thousands of documents supporting allegations from over two dozen whistleblowers.
The investigative report followed a statement and fact sheet issued by Senate Committee Ranking Member Senator Roger Wicker and a report by the Washington Post on May 24, 2021. The abuse of authority includes targeting and investigation of individuals of Asian descent. https://bit.ly/3B1R0kA.
Findings of the report include:
- The Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS) searched Department servers and monitored employee email accounts to scan for evidence of foreign influence as early as 2014. These searches began focusing on an operation to uncover connections between Department employees and actors within the Chinese government. To achieve this end, the ITMS targeted departmental divisions with comparably high proportions of Asian-American employees.
- Overclassification allowed ITMS to block the release of investigative files for criminal targets whose cases proceeded through the judicial system and to members of the public requesting documents through the Freedom of Information Act.
- Across the Department of Commerce, the ITMS opened frivolous investigations on a variety of employees without probable cause for the purpose of exaggerating the unit’s ability to uncover security threats within the civil service.
- Because of inadequate oversight by the Inspector General’s office, the unit’s improper exercises of law enforcement powers likely resulted in preventable violations of civil liberties and other constitutional rights, as well as a gross abuse of taxpayer funds.
"This unchecked race-based targeting disproportionately impacted employees of Chinese ancestry." (page 7)
On pages 12-13, the report identifies two specific Chinese American scientists subjected to ITMS criminal investigations and subsequent prosecutions by the Department of Justice:
- Sherry Chen, an award-winning hydrologist whose ordeal at the Department of Commerce started 10 years ago. She courageously testified in the June 30, 2021 Congressional Roundtable on “Researching while Chinese American: Ethnic Profiling, Chinese American Scientists and a New American Brain Drain” (video 1:42:15) led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, Chair, House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Rep. Judy Chu, Chair, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Read more about Sherry's story at Sherry Chen and Sherry Chen Legal Defense Fund
- Dr. Chunzai Wang, one of the world’s foremost experts on oceanic climate change. Read his story at Chunzai Wang
According to the report (page 20), for more than a decade, the ITMS directed agents to engage in law enforcement activities with knowledge that no legal basis existed to support them. In a memo from 2005, George Lee, director of ITMS, acknowledged that the ITMS “may lack legal authority to conduct an appreciable portion of its investigative efforts, particularly criminal investigations.” He even predicted that agents could face “serious criminal and
civil liability,” including charges of “impersonation, theft, assault, and false imprisonment as well as “vulnerability to a Bivens action.” Nonetheless, Commerce Department officials allowed Lee and the ITMS to continue operating without proper authority.
On August 15, 2018, The Sherry Chen Legal Defense Fund submitted a whistleblower letter to the Inspector General Office to initiate an investigation. The cover letter explains the need to protect the whistleblower, ensure integrity of the process, and preserve evidence. No response has been received after more than 1,060 days. The whistleblower letter was turned over to the Senate Committee as part of the investigation.
Among the recommendations in the report are:
- The Department of Commerce should conduct a review of all adverse employment actions directed or informed by the work of ITMS and former iterations of the office. The review should include, but not be limited to, disciplinary matters; suspension or revocation of security clearances; and retirements, resignations, and terminations. Significant scrutiny should be placed on related Non-Disclosure, Resolution, Settlement, and other agreements negotiated by ITMS officials, including George Lee.
- The administration should conduct an administrative and legal review of closed ITMS cases, including potential referral of criminal misconduct to the appropriate prosecutorial authorities.
We thank Senator Roger Wicker and the Minority Staff for their leadership and due diligence in conducting this thorough investigation. The fact-based report is comprehensive and powerful in uncovering the abuse and misconduct at multiple levels at the Department of Commerce. Both Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration now have the responsibility to correct the wrongs in the Commerce Department immediately, as well as making necessary reforms and changes to improve transparency, oversight, and accountability and eliminate racial profiling and anti-Asian discrimination in federal departments and agencies.
Links and References
2021/07/17 CNN: Report finds little-known security unit in Commerce abused power and investigated employees of Chinese or Southeast Asian ancestry for years
2021/07/16 New York Times: ‘Rogue’ U.S. Agency Used Racial Profiling to Investigate Commerce Dept. Employees, Report Says
The Hill: Commerce office used racial profiling operating as 'rogue' police force: Senate report
Axios: Commerce unit went "rogue" with race-based investigations, Senate report says
USA Today: Senate report: 'Rogue' Commerce security unit targeted Asian-American employees
2021/07/14 TPM: New Minority Committee Report Details Rogue Police Force Investigating A Child, Costing Millions As Employees Watched Netflix
2021/07/13 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Press Release: Wicker Releases Committee Report Revealing Abuse at the Commerce Department
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee Investigative Report: Abuse and Misconduct at The Commerce Department
APA Justice Letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo
|
On June 1, 2021, the APA Justice Task Force sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to express our deep concerns and offer our perspective and assistance to her office regarding the recent Washington Post report detailing misconduct by the Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS) at the Department of Commerce (DOC), which was later confirmed by a statement issued by Senator Roger Wicker, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
A whistleblower letter submitted to the Office of Inspector General at DOC in August 2018 was included in the letter to Secretary Raimondo. We provided facts and evidence that Sherry Chen and Dr. Chunzai Wang are believed to be among those impacted by the reported abuse of non-existent authority and targeting of DOC Asian American employees. The alleged misconduct extends beyond ITMS. We respectfully request Secretary Raimondo to expand the scope of her ongoing review and commit to a comprehensive solution. APA Justice stands ready to provide additional information and assistance as she deems appropriate. Copies of the letter were sent to Senators Maria Cantwell and Roger Wicker, Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee respectively; Senator Tammy Duckworth, member of the same committee; Rep. Judy Chu, Chair, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus; Rep. Jamie Raskin, Chair, House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; Erika Moritsugu, Deputy Assistant to the President and AAPI Senior Liaison, White House; and Jeremy Licht, Deputy General Counsel for Strategic Initiatives at DOC. | ||
2021/07/19 APA Justice: Follow-up Letter to Jeremy Licht
2021/07/14 Department of Commerce: Response Letter from Jeremy Licht to APA Justice
2021/07/14 Department of Commerce: Response Letter from Jeremy Licht to APA Justice
DOC Abuses Non-Existent Authority and Targets Asian American Employees
|
|
|
On May 24, 2021, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Committee), released a press statement and a fact sheet as a precursor to a Committee report detailing misconduct in the Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS) at the Department of Commerce (DOC). They were released shortly after the Washington Post (WP) published a blockbuster article about a whole range of misconduct by ITMS, which included the targeting of Asian Americans.
According to the Committee, “the ITMS has mutated into a rogue, unaccountable police force without a clear mission.” In a separate letter last month to the new Commerce Secretary, Senator Wicker wrote that the ITMS unit may have “disproportionately targeted and investigated . . . individuals of Asian descent.” The Committee's investigation into alleged misconduct at DOC was started in early February 2021 after whistleblowers reported a variety of improper activities dating back to the mid-2000s involving abuse of authority, mismanagement, and reprisal against DOC employees. The preliminary findings show that the ITMS has engaged in a troubling variety of investigative activities without proper authorization.
|
Sherry Chen - "Victim of A Gross Injustice"
Born in China and a naturalized U.S. citizen since 1997, Xiafen "Sherry" Chen was employed at the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio as a hydrologist. The National Weather Service is part of the Department of Commerce (DOC). During her 7- year tenure with the agency, Sherry developed a river flood forecast model that literally saved lives, including during the historic Mississippi River flood in 2011 for which she received a national award. On October 20, 2014, Sherry's life and career were turned upside down when six FBI agents arrested her dramatically at work. Unbeknownst to her, a colleague outrageously had reported Sherry as a potential security risk, describing her as a "U.S. citizen, but a Chinese national." She was interrogated for seven hours by ITMS in 2013 without knowledge that she was a target of investigation. With her arrest she faced criminal charges that carried a potential penalty of 25 years in prison and $1 million in fines. Underlying the baseless charges against Sherry was the implicit allegation that she had acted as a spy for the Chinese government, which was utterly false. In March 2015, a week before the criminal trial was scheduled to begin, the government announced it was dismissing all the charges. Yet DOC refused to allow her to return to work. In March 2016, DOC terminated her employment, based principally on the same spurious allegations leading to her wrongful arrest and prosecution. As a federal employee, Sherry challenged the termination by filing an appeal with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and in March 2017 her case was heard before Administrative Judge Michele Szary Schroeder. More than a year later, in April 2018, Judge Schroeder issued a ruling in Sherry's favor, ordering her immediate reinstatement. In her blistering, 130-page decision, the judge excoriated DOC for the deeply flawed investigations preceding both Sherry's arrest and her termination, including the fact that the agency buried exculpatory evidence. She further blasted the DOC decision-makers who "seemed more concerned about being right than doing the right thing" and who gave such illogical testimony that the judge "would not have been surprised if they rejected that 2 + 2 = 4." Ultimately, the judge agreed that, due to the failures of officials at multiple levels of the agency, Sherry was a "victim of a gross injustice." On January 18, 2019, Sherry Chen and her attorneys Michele Young and Peter Toren filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. government under the Federal Tort Claims Act for the malicious prosecution and false arrest of Sherry Chen in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. On September 23, 2019, Sherry Chen and her legal team amended the complaint to include violations of constitutional rights. Since Sherry's arrest and termination, members of Congress have called attention to her case, including this letter by the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus to the DOC Inspector General on May 23, 2018 which tragically is but one example of the federal government's pattern of ethnic profiling against Chinese American scientists. DOC ignored these concerns and, instead of complying with Judge Schroeder's decision, filed an appeal, which - due to backlog of thousands of cases - is now languishing before the MSPB in Washington. Sherry has suffered tremendously for more than six years. The injustice she faced started nine years ago. Her long nightmare must come to an end. More about the Sherry Chen story are available here and at the Sherry Chen Legal Defense Fund.  Dr. Chunzai Wang 王春在
Dr. Chunzai Wang is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China and a former research oceanographer in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He received the NOAA Research Scientist of the Year award in 2012 and 2013.
After interrogations by ITMS, Dr. Wang was indicted and accused of fraudulent claims and illegal supplement of his federal salary on June 29, 2017. The total amount was about $2,000 over a three-year period to help students there on research involving climate change. The presiding judge criticized the government for its overreach in prosecuting Dr. Wang, but he was forced to leave federal employment. Read more about the Chunzai Wang story: https://bit.ly/3ukWfHF |
Speak Up Against Racial Profiling
|
Professor Xiaoxing Xi, 2020 Andrei Sakharov Prize recipient and physics professor of Temple University, speaks about his ordeal as a racial profiling victim. "Don’t think this can't happen to you... The right question to ask is whether the entire group of Chinese scientists should be singled out for targeting and put under the suspicion as 'non-traditional collectors' for China. That is racial profiling. That is wrong. We should all speak up against it." (28:57)
|
|
Asian Pacific American Justice Task Force
Within two weeks after the New York Times reported the dismissal of the criminal case against Sherry Chen, an award-winning hydrologist at the National Weather Service, a press conference was held on Capitol Hill in May 2015. On the same day, Professor Xiaoxing Xi, Acting Chair of the Physics Department at the Temple University, was arrested and also accused of espionage-related charges.
During the press conference, community organizations expressed their concerns of apparent racial profiling in the Sherry Chen case. The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) announced that 22 CAPAC members signed a letter to then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch requesting an investigation of the Sherry Chen case and a review of the policy, program and pattern or practice of using race or other civil rights classifications that target federal employees.
The pattern of targeting innocent Chinese American scientists was further confirmed by the dismissal of Professor Xi’s case in September 2015. CAPAC Chair Judy Chu called for a regular medium and platform to facilitate more timely and stronger communications to understand and respond to the growing pattern and concerns. A group of volunteers was formed to serve this purpose in the Fall of 2015. This APA Justice website is a product of the group's activities to provide information and facilitate connections and discussions within and beyond the community.
During the press conference, community organizations expressed their concerns of apparent racial profiling in the Sherry Chen case. The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) announced that 22 CAPAC members signed a letter to then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch requesting an investigation of the Sherry Chen case and a review of the policy, program and pattern or practice of using race or other civil rights classifications that target federal employees.
The pattern of targeting innocent Chinese American scientists was further confirmed by the dismissal of Professor Xi’s case in September 2015. CAPAC Chair Judy Chu called for a regular medium and platform to facilitate more timely and stronger communications to understand and respond to the growing pattern and concerns. A group of volunteers was formed to serve this purpose in the Fall of 2015. This APA Justice website is a product of the group's activities to provide information and facilitate connections and discussions within and beyond the community.
America is Our Home
Rep. Ted Lieu (CA) published an op-ed in the Washington Post on July 16, 2019, titled I have served in the Air Force and in Congress. People still tell me to ‘go back’ to China
APAPA statement | OCA statement
APAPA statement | OCA statement
APA Justice Task Force is a non-partisan platform to build a sustainable ecosystem to address racial profiling issues and to facilitate, inform, and advocate on selected issues related to justice and fairness for the Asian American community. "
|
A definition of Racial Profiling is "the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense." In its extreme, it led to the enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. In more recent times, Chinese American scientists such as Wen Ho Lee, Sherry Chen, and Xiaoxing Xi have been wrongly targeted for espionage-related prosecutions, falling victim as "collateral damage." Chinese Americans are subject to profiling under what the FBI Director has called a "whole-of-society" approach to address national security concerns. Read more about about racial profiling of Asian Americans.
|
During a time of rising tension between the U.S. and China, an entire group of students, scholars and scientists of Chinese heritage is caught in the crossfires and targeted as potential national security threats to America. An increasing number of faculty and students have reported that they have been subject to prejudicial comments, unwarranted scrutiny or professional strictures based on their race, ethnicity or national origin. The current state is alarming. Read about how community and scientific organizations, universities and higher education institutions , and Congressional leaders are reacting and responding to these growing concerns.
|
|
A pattern of racial profiling against Chinese American scientists began to emerge in 2015. There are real-life victims including a growing list of Sherry Chen, Professor Xiaoxing Xi, Dr. Yanping Chen, and others.
A combination of human mistakes, implicit bias, social stigmatism, explicit prejudice, and racial profiling may explain why some of these innocent individuals were wrongly prosecuted or investigated for years in the first place. However, the damages done to them and their families are undeniably devastating. In addition to victims whose cases were dismissed or found not guilty, some agreed to much lesser infractions than the original charges to avoid financial ruins. Our nation loses their talents and contributions to the society when they are forced to leave the country. These cases are almost never reported by the government. |
April 1, 2020 is the next census day. On March 29, 2018, the Census Bureau announced the last-minuite additon of a citizenship question and the use of administrative records in the 2020 Census. The decisions, made by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, will have adverse impacts on the immigrant communities including Asian Americans, as well as profound long-term effects on the privacy rights for all Americans. Three federal judges have ruled the addition of citizenship question to be unlawfully and in one case unconsitutional. The Supreme Court decided on the question in June 2019. An executive order was then issued to collect administrative data on citizenship from federal agencies. The issue impacting re-districting will continue. Read more about the citizenship question and use of administrative data and its current state here, as well as over 900 media reports about its continuing developments.
|