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#212 10/2 Meeting; Section 702 Reforms; Anti-Asian Racism in the US; 2020 Census Data; More

In This Issue #212

  • 2023/10/02 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

  • Report on The Warrantless Surveillance Program and Section 702 Reforms

  • Report on Anti-Asian Racism in The United States

  • 2020 Census Data for Nearly 1,500 Detailed Race and Ethnicity Groups, Tribes and Villages

  • News and Activities for the Communities

 


2023/10/02 APA Justice Monthly Meeting


The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, October 2, 2023, starting at 1:55 pm ET.In addition to updates by Nisha Ramachandran, Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC); Joanna Derman, Director, Advancing Justice | AAJC; Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), and Clay Zhu 朱可亮, Partner, DeHeng Law Offices 德恒律师事务所, confirmed speakers will also include:


  • Nancy Chen, Founding President, Chinese American Women in Action (CAWA) on the history of CAWA and its interests and concerns in Illinois and national issues

  • Andy Wong, Managing Director of Advocacy, Chinese for Affirmative Action, on the coalition letter on Section 702 reforms, responses, and related CAA activities such as the recently launched "Stop The Blame" campaign

  • Haipei Shue (薛海培), President, United Chinese Americans, on the recent hearings of Professor Feng "Franklin" Tao 陶丰's appeal in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver and the administrative trial of New York Police Department Officer Baimadajie Angwang 昂旺 in New York City (new addition)


The virtual monthly meeting is by invitation only. If you wish to join, either one time or for future meetings, please contact one of the co-organizers of APA Justice - Steven Pei 白先慎Vincent Wang 王文奎, and Jeremy Wu 胡善庆 - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org


NOTE A shutdown of the federal government happens when Congress fails to pass some type of funding legislation that is signed into law by the president.  Funding expired on September 30, 2023, but a 45-day stop-gap bill was signed into law at the last minute to continue government operation until November 17, 2023.  

 


Report on The Warrantless Surveillance Program and Section 702 Reforms 


On September 28, 2023, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) released a 297-page report titled "Report on The Surveillance Program Operated Pursuant to Section 702 of The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."


According to The Hill on October 1, 2023, "the PCLOB report reveals deep divisions among its five members on how to reform Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows for warrantless surveillance of foreigners abroad.


"In a departure from precedent, the report did not reach unanimous conclusions about how to update the law, a confusing prospect as a Congress divided on Section 702 stares down an end-of-the-year deadline to renew it. 


"The board’s two Republican-appointed members voted against its release, said its findings should not be attributed to them and attached their recommendations in a 56-page annex that read almost like a second report.


"Civil liberties advocates have long viewed Section 702 as a backdoor for gaining access to information on Americans, whose communications get swept up in searches as they speak with those being surveilled abroad. It’s a factor they see as a violation of Sixth Amendment rights and a particular risk to Black and other communities of color.


"The report, however, includes a third rail for the intelligence community — a suggestion the intelligence community first get a court order before reviewing any intel gleaned on Americans.


"Doing so, PCLOB’s majority writes, would offer the 'most critical safeguard for Americans’ privacy rights.'


"The FBI spied on 119,000 Americans last year, a sharp decline that reflects changes in FBI policy for how the agency accesses the information of citizens swept up in other searches. Still, an unsealed opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the entity that would oversee the court order process recommended by the report, recently unsealed an opinion showing a string of abuses, including reviewing information on elected officials. 


"The inclusion of a recommendation to get a court order before reviewing information gathered on Americans and permanent residents was celebrated by civil liberties groups that have long pushed for such a requirement.


"Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, called the report an 'ironclad case for requiring a probable-cause order for U.S. person queries.'"


On September 14, 2023, a coalition of 52 Asian American organizations wrote to Congress to oppose the renewal of Section 702 of FISA unless significant revisions are put into place. The letter, led by Asian American Scholae Forum (AASF), Advancing Justice | AAJC, and Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) and Stop AAPI Hate, wrote "with a sense of urgency and a shared commitment to safeguarding the principles of justice, equality, and privacy in our nation. As Asian Americans and allies, we understand all too well the perils of unchecked national security programs and the historical discrimination our community has endured. Our shared history serves as a poignant reminder of the dangers of racial profiling and prejudice in the name of national security."


Read the coalition letter: https://bit.ly/3LkEmnt.  Read the PCLOB report: https://bit.ly/3PEutm3.


According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in May 2017, Professor Xiaoxing Xi 郗小星 filed a lawsuit against the lead FBI agent in the case, Andrew Haugen, and other agents, alleging that they made knowingly or recklessly false statements in support of the investigation and prosecution. Xi’s wife and oldest daughter later joined the case. The ACLU joined the case in October 2017. The lawsuit asks the court to award damages and to declare that the defendants violated the plaintiffs’ Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights. It also asks the court to order the government to return or delete any of the Xis’ communications that it obtained during the investigation.


The Third Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Xi and his family to pursue their lawsuit against the U.S. government in May 2023.

 


Report on Anti-Asian Racism in The United States


On September 27, 2023, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) released its 2023 statutory enforcement report, The Federal Response to Anti-Asian Racism in the United States.  The report assesses the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. from 2019 through 2021, and the federal role in preventing and enforcing federal hate crime laws.


According to USCCR, the report examines three main areas: 1) national trends and data regarding the rise of hate incidents and hate crimes against members of Asian communities; 2) local and state law enforcement’s prevention and reporting practices regarding hate crimes; and 3) federal efforts and policies that encourage greater participation in reporting hate crime incidents, as well as prosecution and enforcement efforts to prevent hate crimes.


The report highlights that language barriers hinder the reporting of incidents, and many incidents, even if they don’t meet legal hate crime criteria, still evoke fear and are not accounted for in official statistics. 


A major impediment is the lack of comprehensive data and reporting in understanding the severity of hate crimes against individuals of Asian descent. The report notes that the transition to the National Incident-Based Reporting System has been slow for some agencies, leading to incomplete data.


The Commission proposes a “holistic strategy” to combat anti-Asian hate incidents, including improvements in data collection, legal enforcement, community support and education initiatives. 


It recommends urging prosecutors and law enforcement to vigorously investigate and prosecute hate crimes against Asian Americans and providing first responders with training on identifying hate crimes. It also highlights the need to address language barriers in federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and victim services.


The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency established by Congress in 1957.  Its mission is to inform the development of national civil rights policy and enhance enforcement of federal civil rights laws.


Read the USCCR report:  https://bit.ly/3ZB9llm  



2020 Census Data for Nearly 1,500 Detailed Race and Ethnicity Groups, Tribes and Villages


On September 21, 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau released 2020 Census population counts and sex-by-age statistics for 300 detailed race and ethnic groups, as well as 1,187 detailed American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) tribes and villages.


On the Asian Population

  • Among Asian respondents, Asian Indian was the largest alone group (4.4 million) and Chinese, except Taiwanese the largest alone or in any combination group (5.2 million).

  • Filipino (4.4 million), Vietnamese (2.3 million), Korean (2.0 million), and Japanese (1.6 million) all had alone or in any combination populations over 1 million in 2020.

  • The Nepalese population was the fastest growing Asian group among those with populations of 50,000 or more in 2010. The Nepalese alone population increased 295.5% from 51,907 in 2010 to 205,297 in 2020, and the Nepalese alone or in any combination population grew 269.0% from 59,490 to 219,503 over the decade. 


On the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Population

  • Native Hawaiian was the largest Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) alone group (199,880) and alone or in any combination group (680,442).

  • Nearly all NHPI groups grew from 2010 to 2020. The Chuukese alone population was the fastest growing NHPI alone group, increasing 296.2% to 10,500 in 2020.

  • The fastest growing NHPI alone or in any combination group was Papua New Guinean, which increased by 249.3% to 1,453 people during the decade.


Read the Census Bureau news release: https://bit.ly/3rAYGdQ.  Read the breakdown on the Asian population: https://bit.ly/3PwxDby 



News and Activities for the Communities


1. Community Calendar 

The APA Justice Community Calendar is located on the front page of the APA Justice website at https://www.apajustice.org/.

Upcoming Events:

  • 2023/10/02 APA Justice October Monthly Meeting

  • 2023/10/08 Rep. Gene Wu's Weekly Town Hall Meeting

  • 2023/10/12 Expert Panel on Open Data for Racial Equity

  • 2023/10/12 C100 Webinar - Race-Based Admissions and the Supreme Court Court: An Asian American Perspective

  • 2023/10/12 The FBI and Chinese Americans - From the Investigation and Defense Frontline

  • 2023/10/15 State Legislature 101 Training

  • 2023/10/15 Rep. Gene Wu's Weekly Town Hall Meeting

  • 2023/10/22 Rep. Gene Wu's Weekly Town Hall Meeting

  •  Visit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details.

 

2.  2023/10/12 Webinar: The FBI and Chinese Americans


WHAT:  On-site event - The FBI and Chinese American Community: Stories and Tips from the Investigation and Defense Frontline

WHEN:  Thursday, October 12, 6:30 - 8:30 pm PT

WHERE: Santa Clara University School of Law, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95050

HOSTS:  The Chinese American Lawyers of the Bay Area (CALOBA) and the Chinese American Semiconductor Professional Association (CASPA)

DESCRIPTION:  "A conversation with the FBI on criminal trade secret theft at the Santa Clara University School of Law. As members of the Chinese American community, we are committed to protecting our shared interests and promoting a safe and prosperous environment for all. Please join us and learn some frontline stories and practical tips offered by our distinguished panelists based on their decades of experience in the field!"

REGISTRATION:  https://bit.ly/46cHiei


3.  Foreign Affairs Essay: The Dysfunctional Superpower


 According to a Foreign Affairs essay on September 29, 2023, a looming government shutdown, a partisan impeachment inquiry, and the former president facing multiple felony charges across four criminal cases. Add to this chaos a presidential election and it’s fair to say that the U.S. political system will be preoccupied with its own drama and division for some time. 


Such paralysis could not come at a worse time. The United States should be in a strong position to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping—but “dysfunction has made American power erratic and unreliable, practically inviting risk-prone autocrats to place dangerous bets,” the essay said. “The United States finds itself in a uniquely treacherous position: facing aggressive adversaries with a propensity to miscalculate yet incapable of mustering the unity and strength necessary to dissuade them.” Only by working together can U.S. leaders contend with such grave threats. And “therein lies the rub.”


Robert M. Gates, author of the essay, is former U.S. Secretary of Defense.


Read the Foreign Policy essay: https://fam.ag/3LNONjN

October 2, 2023

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