Rep. Ted Lieu Delivered Bicameral Coalition Letter to Attorney General
Calling for Investigation of Racial Profiling of Asians
Wen Ho Lee
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Sherry Chen
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Xiaoxing Xi
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Anming Hu
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Qing Wang
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Gang Chen
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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."
Links and References
2021/08/20 South China Morning Post: Biden urged to pause and review China Initiative for racial profiling
2021/08/19 Rep. Don Beyer: Response in Joining Bicameral Letter
2021/08/10 The Guardian editorial: The Guardian view on anti-Chinese suspicion: target espionage, not ethnicities
2021/08/09 APS News: Current US Policy on China: The Risk to Open Science
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
2021/07/26 Los Angeles Times: After feds drop charges against Chinese scholars, new concerns about racial profiling
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
"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."
Links and References
2021/08/20 South China Morning Post: Biden urged to pause and review China Initiative for racial profiling
2021/08/19 Rep. Don Beyer: Response in Joining Bicameral Letter
2021/08/10 The Guardian editorial: The Guardian view on anti-Chinese suspicion: target espionage, not ethnicities
2021/08/09 APS News: Current US Policy on China: The Risk to Open Science
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
2021/07/26 Los Angeles Times: After feds drop charges against Chinese scholars, new concerns about racial profiling
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
Speak Up Against Racial Profiling
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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)
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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 that addresses racial profiling concerns and to facilitate, inform, and advocate on selected issues related to justice and fairness for the Asian Pacific American community. "
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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.
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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.
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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.
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