#380 3/2 Meeting; Jane Wu Lawsuit; Birthright Citizenship; Higher Ed Mission; UMichigan; +

In This Issue #380

·      03/02 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

·      SCMP: Estate of Dr. Jane Wu Lawsuit Moves Forward

·      Supreme Court to Hear Opposition to End Birthright Citizenship

·      Call to Uphold Higher Ed’s Mission

·      Charges Against UMichigan Scientists from China Dropped

·      News and Activities for the Communities

03/02 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held on Monday, March 2, 2026, starting at 1:55 pm ET.

Rep. Grace Meng 孟昭文, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), will deliver her remarks on the current state of CAPAC and the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, in addition to updates from:

·       Dennis Jing, Staff Attorney, Advancing Justice | AAJC

·       Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF)

We are honored by and welcome the following confirmed distinguished speakers:

·       Kaohly Her, Mayor, St. Paul, Minnesota

·       Chiling Tong 董繼玲, Co-Chair, National APA Museum Commission

·       Mike German, Retired Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice

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

*****

Mayor Kaohly Her made history as St. Paul’s first Hmong American mayor and was sworn in on January 2, 2026. She is a lifelong public servant with deep roots in community advocacy, education, and equity. Before serving as mayor of St. Paul, she represented St. Paul in the Minnesota State Senate, where she was known for her work on education, public safety, and economic opportunity. Mayor Her will provide an update on the experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in the Twin Cities.

As Co-Chair of the National APA Museum Commission, Chiling Tong will provide an update on recent developments, strategic priorities, and next steps toward establishing a national museum dedicated to Asian Pacific American history and culture.  She currently serves as President and CEO of the National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship (National ACE) and is the Founding President of the International Leadership Foundation (ILF), a nonprofit organization established in 2000 to promote civic engagement, public service, and leadership development among college students and young professionals.

SCMP: Estate of Dr. Jane Wu Lawsuit Moves Forward

According to the South China Morning Post on February 25, 2026, Cook County Judge Jonathan Green has refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Northwestern University of mistreating Chinese American neuroscientist Dr. Jane Ying Wu 吴瑛 before her suicide, allowing the case to proceed to a substantive phase. At a hearing in Chicago, Judge Green ruled that the family’s central claims—including discrimination based on national origin, wrongful confinement, and severe emotional distress—were sufficiently supported to move forward. A next hearing is scheduled for mid-May.

Dr. Wu’s family alleges that the former Charles L. Mix Professor at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine took her own life in July 2024 at age 60 “as a direct result of how she was treated” during years of scrutiny over her alleged ties to China under the now-defunct federal “China Initiative.” The complaint claims Northwestern sidelined her professionally by shutting down her laboratory, reassigning her NIH research grants, and dismantling her research team. It further alleges that in May 2024 she was removed from her office in handcuffs and involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric unit.

According to the lawsuit, “the physical assault directed by Northwestern University and the forced hospitalization sent Dr. Wu into a severe state of shock.” After securing her release two weeks later, the complaint states that “with her career, her professional reputation and her personal sense of safety shattered,” Dr. Wu died by suicide on July 10, 2024.

Judge Green indicated that the allegations—if proven—raise serious legal questions. He allowed claims related to discriminatory treatment, emotional harm, and the circumstances of Dr. Wu’s psychiatric admission to proceed, meaning the court will examine how and why she was hospitalized and whether university-affiliated doctors acted appropriately. The judge also granted the family permission to seek immediate access to Dr. Wu’s employment records, contracts, and tenure agreement after their attorney said Northwestern had refused to release them because she was deceased.

The case is being closely watched within the Chinese American scientific community, many of whom say they were disproportionately affected by the China Initiative, launched during President Donald Trump’s first term and disbanded in 2022. Earlier this month, more than 1,000 academics signed a letter calling on Northwestern to apologize for what they described as its “unjust treatment” of Dr. Wu. “The treatment is inconsistent with her status as one of very few endowed Asian American women professors and her 19 years of contributions,” the letter states, urging the university to “publicly acknowledge and apologize” and to reform internal policies to prevent similar cases.

Dr. Wu was born in Hefei, China, earned her medical degree in Shanghai, and later completed a PhD in cancer biology at Stanford University. After postdoctoral work at Harvard and a decade at Washington University in St. Louis, she joined Northwestern in 2005. A leading researcher in RNA biology, her work focused on how cells process RNA, with implications for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s. At the start of 2019, she held six NIH grants and served as principal investigator on five of them.

Although the NIH reportedly cleared Dr. Wu in late 2023, her family alleges that Northwestern did not reinstate her lab space, restore her grants, or rebuild her research team, making it difficult for her to continue her work or secure new funding.

Northwestern has previously said it “vehemently denies” the allegations. The lawsuit now moves into discovery, where internal communications, employment records, and medical documentation are expected to be examined.

Read the South China Morning Post report: https://bit.ly/46pfvK6.  Read the story of Dr. Jane Wu: https://bit.ly/JaneWu.  

Supreme Court to Hear Opposition to End Birthright Citizenship

Trump v. Barbara (No. 25-365) is a landmark 2026 Supreme Court case challenging Executive Order 14160, issued by the Trump administration, which seeks to deny automatic birthright citizenship to certain children born in the United States to undocumented or non-permanent resident parents. The ACLU-led class action lawsuit argues that the order violates the Fourteenth Amendment and long-standing Supreme Court precedent. Oral arguments are scheduled for April 1, 2026.

NAPABA and Coalition File Amicus Brief

On February 25, 2026, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), joined by 48 affiliated and partner bar associations, filed an amicus brief urging the Court to strike down Executive Order 14160.

NAPABA argues that the order violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause by denying citizenship to children born in the United States to parents with temporary lawful status. The coalition contends that the order directly contradicts the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), which affirmed that children born on U.S. soil are citizens regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

The brief challenges the federal government’s interpretation of Wong Kim Ark (黄金德) and places the case within the broader historical context of discrimination against Chinese immigrants during the era of exclusion laws. NAPABA warns that upholding the executive order would disproportionately harm Asian American communities and risk repeating injustices rooted in racial exclusion.

Founded in 1988, NAPABA represents more than 80,000 Asian Pacific American legal professionals nationwide.

Civil Rights Organizations Warn of “Citizenship Stripping”

On February 26, 2026, the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), the Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice, and 71 additional nonprofit and grassroots organizations — including APA Justice — filed a separate amicus brief opposing Executive Order 14160.

The coalition characterizes the measure as a “Citizenship Stripping Executive Order” and warns that upholding it could lead to retroactive revocation of citizenship, creating a permanent underclass of stateless individuals subject to lifelong discrimination, disenfranchisement, and exclusion from fundamental rights.

The brief cites historical examples of citizenship revocation targeting racial minorities and women, including the denaturalization of South Asian Americans following United States v. Thind (1923) and the Expatriation Act of 1907, which disproportionately harmed Asian American women. The organizations caution that states and local governments could rely on the order to deny affected individuals voting rights, jury service, and other civic participation.

They urge the Supreme Court to reject the order to prevent generational harm and preserve the constitutional guarantee of equality for all U.S.-born persons.

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC)

On February 27, 2026, the House Litigation Task Force, co-led by CAPAC Chair Grace Meng, announced that 216 House and Senate Democrats filed a bicameral amicus brief in Trump v. Barbara urging the Supreme Court to reject President Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship. The lawmakers argue that the order violates the Fourteenth Amendment, longstanding Supreme Court precedent, and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, and warn that millions of Americans could face retroactive loss of citizenship if the administration’s interpretation prevails. The brief contends that the President is attempting to bypass Congress after legislative efforts to restrict birthright citizenship failed, calling the order an unconstitutional executive overreach.

Harvard Law Scholars Challenge Constitutionality

According to the Human Rights Program (HRP) at Harvard Law School, on February 23, 2026, HRP Director Professor Gerald L. Neuman, along with Professors Kristin Collins and Rachel Rosenbloom, filed an amicus brief challenging the executive order.

Their brief argues that Executive Order 14160 is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause and independently violates the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The professors emphasize that 8 U.S.C. § 1401(a) guarantees citizenship at birth to anyone born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction, and that an executive order cannot override statutory protections enacted by Congress.

Drawing on the legislative history of the Nationality Act of 1940 and the INA of 1952, they argue that Congress clearly codified near-universal birthright citizenship with only narrow exceptions — and that parental domicile or immigration status was never intended to limit a child’s citizenship.

Read APA Justice's tracking of the oppositions to EO 14160: Birthright Citizenship, including visualization of its history: https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/2139841/Birthright-Citizenship/

Call to Uphold Higher Ed’s Mission

According to Inside Higher Ed on February 27, 2026, at the American Council on Education’s annual meeting, ACE President Ted Mitchell emphasized that higher education must defend its independence against what he described as a “federal takeover” by the Trump administration. Mitchell acknowledged past attacks on universities, faculty, and students, while also highlighting successes such as protecting Pell Grants, research funding, and faculty rights. He called for improved accountability, graduation rates, tolerance, and viewpoint diversity on campuses.

Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan and former U.S. Ambassador David Pressman drew parallels between the Trump administration and Hungary’s authoritarian tactics under Viktor Orbán, warning that universities could surrender independence under political or legal pressure. Pressman noted the speed at which elite U.S. institutions responded compared with Orbán’s decade-long approach.

Discussion also focused on the challenges faced by public university presidents in politically constrained states and the role of ACE in coordinating sector-wide responses. Mitchell framed ACE as a platform to advocate for values and protect institutional independence where individual leaders may be limited.

Charges Against UMichigan Scientists from China Dropped

According to AP News on February 25, 2026, U.S. prosecutors dropped charges against three Chinese Ph.D. researchers at the University of Michigan—Xu Bai, Fengfan Zhang, and Zhiyong Zhang—who had been accused of helping smuggle biological materials into the United States. Defense attorneys said the dismissal followed intervention and negotiations by the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.

The materials involved were mostly harmless laboratory worms commonly used in research, though officials initially described the case as a national security matter. The three researchers spent more than three months in jail before a federal judge dismissed the charges at the Justice Department’s request on February 5, 2026. They have since returned to China.

Defense lawyers said prosecutors had been considering plea deals before abruptly dropping the case, calling the dismissal appropriate and career-saving for the students. A related researcher previously pleaded no contest and was deported, as was another scientist in a separate but similar case. Experts cited by the defense said the biological materials posed no public safety risk.

Read the AP News report: https://bit.ly/4r3kUxQ

News and Activities for the Communities

1. APA Justice Community Calendar

Upcoming Events:

2026/03/02 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

2026/03/03 Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes - Henry Tang

2026/04/06 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

2026/04/14 Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes - Anla ChengVisit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details.

2. 02/26 Webinar on Global Competition

On February 26, 2026, the U.S.-China Education Trust, Committee of 100, and APA Justice co-hosted a timely and substantive webinar on Global Competition for Talent and International Students, convening distinguished leaders and thoughtful voices from across the higher education landscape. Participants gained valuable insights from Dr. Fanta Aw and Professor Steven Chu, with Professor Margaret Lewis providing skillful moderation that guided a focused, dynamic, and engaging discussion. A written summary and the full video recording of the webinar will be shared in the coming days.

# # # 

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.  For more information, please refer to the new APA Justice website under development at www.apajusticetaskforce.org. We value your feedback. Please send your comments to contact@apajustice.org.