Commission on Civil Rights ask probe of possible racial profiling of Chinese/American scientists

Sherry Chen, left and Xiaoxing Xi, right, at a press conference after espionage charges against them were dropped.

THE U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is joining the call by Asian/American members of Congress and civil rights organization for an investigation on the targeting and prosecution of Chinese Americans suspected of spying.

"We are concerned that these cases may reflect insufficient supervision, due diligence and expertise in investigating before arresting our fellow citizens and tainting them and their families with the charge of disloyalty," stated a July 15 letter to Michael E. Horowitz, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The commission members cited the cases of Temple University professor Xiaoxing Xi and National Weather Service hydrologist Sherry Chen, both of whom had espionage charges dropped because of insufficient evidence and investigators didn't understand the science they believed the two were releasing to foreign governments.

"The nature of these charges have a long term devastating impact on the careers and the families of those wrongly accused who have yet to receive a formal apology from the Department of Justice," said the letter. "In this highly racially charged environment, they also have the potential to harm the communities from which these scientists come and undermine the credibility of the Department of Justice."

RELATED: Asian/American scientists still feeling impact of trauma

Earlier, a June 21 letter from the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, a coalition of 35  AAPI civil rights agencies expressed similar concerns, about “... the apparent practice of racial profiling in national espionage cases. Both Sherry Chen and Professor Xi’s cases highlight the very human costs of charges brought to court with insufficient evidence,” said Ken Lee, Chief Executive Officer of the Organization of Chinese Americans. “The treatment that both of them endured must never happen again."

No one is denying that there are foreign governments trying to U.S. military technology and secrets. The DOJ has been able to investigate and prosecute several of those cases. What concerns the Commission and the AAPI community is that investigators may be using racial profiling rather than hard evidence to prosecute individuals.

RELATED: Spy charges against Taiwanese/American

In November last year, 40 members of Congress called on the U.S. Attorney General to investigate whether race or ethnicity played a role in the accusations of espionage faced by Xi and Chen.

Meanwhile, the scientists are still suffering from repercussions from the accusations. Chen did not get her old job back. In May 2016, Chen filed a discrimination complaint against the Commerce Department.

Xi returned to work  but his family is still feeling the trauma. He wrote on his website: "I hope my elder daughter Joyce can again focus on her college work without being occupied by trying to tell everybody that her dad is not a spy. I hope my younger daughter Sarah can start healing from the trauma of seeing armed agents burst into our home and her daddy taken away in handcuffs. I hope my students can now finish their degree work without being concerned about having a 'criminal' as their advisor."

There have been no apologies from the DOJ for their actions even though they were clearly in the wrong. Only in the case of Los Alamos National Lab scientist Wen Ho Lee, who was also falsely accused, did the judge apologize.

"We want to make sure this doesn't keep happening to the community," said Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif. "When you have Asia/ Americans being targeted for espionage for taking actions that otherwise would not be suspicious if they weren't Asian Americans, then you have a problem."

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency charged with advising the President and Congress on civil rights matters and issuing a federal civil rights enforcement report.  The Commission letter was signed by the six commissioners: Chairman Martin R. Castro, Robert Achtenberg, Karen K. Narasai, Patricia Timmons-Goodson, David Kladney and Michael Yaki.

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For more news about Asian/Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

Accused as spies, Asian/Am scientists still suffer repercussions even after charges dropped

Spy charges vs. Sherry Chen and Prof. Xiaoxing Xi were dropped but their ordeal continues. 

Reprinted from AsAm News

MORE THAN a year after charges were dropped against two Chinese/American scientists falsely accused of espionage in two separate cases, both remain haunted by their ordeal.

Their cases were profiled in a CBS 60 Minutes report last Sunday and the two have also given recent interviews to the Wall Street Journal and Philly.com.

“We cannot get rid of the thought that the FBI is reading every one of our emails and listening to our phone conversations to find something,” Xiaoxing Xi , 58, said to Philly.com. “I am determined to move on, but that’s there.”

Xi lost his temporary chairmanship of the Physics Department at Temple University after the charges, but remains as a professor. He still struggles to sleep at night.

Unlike Xi, Sherry Chen was unable to get her job back following her suspension from the National Weather Service and has since been fired for the same issues raised in the since dropped Justice Department complaint.

The Wall Street Journal reports she has filed a discrimination suit against the Commerce Department.

“The victim isn’t only me–it’s also our agency,” she said. “I have a lot of work unfinished. My [forecasting] model really saves people’s lives”

“If you took out the China connection, neither of those cases would have ever been brought in a millions years,” said Peter Zeidenberg, an attorney who represented both Chen and Xi. “Everything that has a China connection is scrutinized in a different way.”

Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), points out in a press release that what happened to Xi is not an isolated incident. Within the last 18 months, Chinese American scientists Guoqing Cao, Shuyu Li, Sherry Chen and Xiaoxing Xi have emerged in a string of cases in which espionage-related cases were brought forth and later dropped – without explanation.

“Their lives were turned upside down simply because they were emailing while being Asian American,” said Chu in the CAPAC release that noted the Department of Justice’s new oversight policy in regards to national security-related cases, yet questioned its efficacy. 

“The public is still being denied any investigation explaining why there appears to be a pattern of singling out Asian Americans by federal law enforcement … I demand that the Department of Justice launch a full, independent investigation into the cases of these wrongfully charged individuals. I also look forward to hearing directly from Attorney General (Loretta) Lynch regarding DOJ’s new policy to provide greater oversight on espionage-related cases, and the Department’s plans to avoid such egregious missteps in the future.”

It’s difficult for Chen and Xi to shake their experience from their conscious.

“I see dangers all over the place,” said Xi. “I think I sound very annoyingly paranoid when I talk to my colleagues because I tell them, ‘You better be careful, what you’re doing is dangerous.’ ”

Forty members of congress have called for the Justice Department to conduct an investigation into racial profiling of Asian Americans. So far, Attorney General Loretta Lynch has not responded to the request.
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Spy charges dropped against Asian/American scientists; Asian congressional caucus warn against racial profiling

Espionage charges were dropped against Xi Xiaoxin

ON MONDAY, (Sept. 14) members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) called upon the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate a pattern of cases in which U.S. citizens of Asian descent have been wrongfully arrested or charged with alleged espionage.

On Friday (Sept. 11), the Department of Justice dropped all charges against Dr. Xi Xiaoxing of Temple University.  Federal agents stormed his house with guns drawn, arrested him as he was taken away from his family in handcuffs, accused him of being a spy for China, and his title of Chair of the Physics Department was taken away.

“I don’t expect them to understand everything I do,” Xiaxing told the New York Times. “But the fact that they don’t consult with experts and then charge me? Put my family through all of this? Damage my reputation? They shouldn’t do this. This is not a joke. This is not a game.”

Rep. Judy Chu 

The charges against Xeroxing and other Chinese scientists has raised the concern of the congressmembers.

“I am deeply troubled by what appears to be a growing pattern of Chinese American employees being targeted and charged of spying and economic espionage, only to have those charges later dropped," said CAPAC chair Rep. Judy Chu of California.

“Just last week, the Department of Justice dropped all of its charges against Temple University professor Xi Xiaoxing, who was accused of sharing sensitive U.S. technology with China," she said. 

In March, another naturalized U.S. citizen, government hydrologist Sherry Chen, discovered she would not be tried for accessing sensitive data and lying to federal agents.

In both cases, their lawyer said, Department of Justice prosecutors dropped the criminal cases against them once confronted with detailed explanations of the facts.

"These incidents are eerily reminiscent of the case of Chinese/American scientist Wen Ho Lee, who was charged with 59 counts of espionage, fired from his job, taken to jail, and held in solitary confinement only to have 58 of the charges later dropped," said Chu.

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is comprised of members of Congress of Asian and Pacific Islander descent and members who have a strong dedication to promoting the well-being of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. 

“We now see a recurring theme of false allegations being placed on patriotic, law-abiding American citizens of Chinese descent," said Rep. Mike Honda, Calif. "A person’s ethnicity should never be sufficient justification for charges or suspicions being brought upon them," 

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