#335 Today’s Monthly Meeting; Ohio Alien Land Bills; Chinese Student Visas; Fulbright Finalists Disqualified

In This Issue #335

·        Today’s APA Justice Monthly Meeting

·        Ohio Lawmakers and Community Members Speak Out Against Alien Land Bills Introduced

·        Organizations Outraged by Trump Administration Move to Revoke Chinese Student Visas

·        Trump Administration Disqualified Finalists in Fulbright Selection Process for Being Related to DEI and Climate Change

·        News and Activities for the Communities

2025/06/02 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, June 2, 2025, starting at 1:55 pm ET.

In addition to updates by Judith Teruya, Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Jiny Kim, Vice President of Policy and Program, Advancing Justice | AAJC, and Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), invited speakers are:

·        Judy Chu, Member, U.S. House of Representatives; Chair Emeritus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC)

·        Ya Liu, Member, North Carolina House of Representatives

·        Juanita Brent, Member, Ohio House of Representatives

·        Edgar Chen, Special Policy Advisor, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)

·        Aki Maehara, Professor, Historian, East Los Angeles College

·        Christina Ku and Gerald Ohn, Co-Founders, Asian American Civil Rights League

·        Brian Sun, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright

·        David Inoue, Executive Director; Larry Oda, Chair Emeritus; Gary Nakamura, Vice President, Japanese American Citizens League

·        Manjusha Kulkarni, Co-Founder, Stop AAPI Hate

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 - Steven Pei 白先慎, Vincent Wang 王文奎, and Jeremy Wu 胡善庆 - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org.

Ohio Lawmakers and Community Members Speak Out Against Alien Land Bills Introduced

Earlier this year, the Ohio General Assembly introduced bills to restrict foreign property ownership. The House Bill (HB1) was introduced on January 23, and the Senate Bill (SB88) was introduced on February 10, and both were referred to the respective committees within a few days. The house bill number (1) seems to signify its importance, and the senate bill number (88) was said to be a snub at the number eight, which many in Asian countries deem as a fortunate number.

The two bills have a similar text for the most part, which is to ban individuals, businesses, and governments of "a foreign adversary" from owning agricultural land from buying property within a 25-mile radius of military bases, airports, and "critical infrastructure", in the name of protecting national security. The Senate bill has additional restrictions that include forcing a current owner to sell their property at its original price.

The Asian community raised alarm in May over the proposed bills and quickly mobilized members to participate in committee hearings and voice their concerns. Lawmakers in the Ohio General Assembly also expressed unease, introducing amendments aimed at narrowing the scope of the bills and reducing potential harm. Primary concerns include racial profiling and the targeting of Asian Americans, particularly those of Chinese descent, as well as the disturbing echoes of some of the darkest chapters in American history, such as California's 1913 Alien Land Law, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. 

As of May 27, the Ohio HB1 received testimonies from 11 Proponents, 68 Opponents, and three (3) Interested Parties, and the Ohio SB88 received testimonies from four (4) Proponents, 231 Opponents, and eight (8) Interested Parties. 

·        Columbus Dispatch: Opponents call Ohio property sales ban 'racist,' 'discriminatory'

·        Ohio Capital Journal: Hundreds push back against bill prohibiting foreign nationals from buying property in Ohio

·        WBNS/10TV (CBS affiliate): Asian American community voices concerns over Ohio bills targeting foreign nationals

·        State House News Bureau (NPR affiliate): A bill would bar Ohio land buys by businesses and immigrants from some countries

·        WKYC-TV Cleveland (NBC affiliate): Asian American community voices concerns over Ohio bills targeting foreign nationals

·        Toledo Blade: Ohioans of Asian descent fight ban on property sales to ‘foreign adversaries’

Organizations Outraged by Trump Administration Move to Revoke Chinese Student Visas

The Trump Administration is "aggressively revoking" Visas for Chinese students

According to the Associated Press, New York Times, and others, the Trump administration announced this week that it would begin "aggressively revoking" visas for Chinese students, including those allegedly linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or those studying in unspecified "critical fields." Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement Wednesday evening, adding that the State Department was revising visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of future applications from China, including those from Hong Kong.

The move has sent shockwaves across U.S. universities, which collectively host over 275,000 students from China, making them the second-largest group of international students after India. Administrators, professors, and students expressed concerns that the lack of clarity about the policy’s scope, especially how “ties to the CCP” and “critical fields" are defined, will generate confusion and anxiety on campuses. 

Critics argue the visa crackdown could damage America’s scientific and technological competitiveness. “Shutting the door on Chinese students doesn’t just betray our values — it weakens our leadership in science, technology, and innovation,” said former U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke.

Universities have long relied on international students for both talent and tuition revenue. “I think it is terribly misguided, counterproductive, and another way in which we are shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University. 

Reactions from Organizations to the Announcement about Revoking Chinese Student Visas

On May 28, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) issued a statement expressing concerns, “The wholesale revocation of student visas based on national origin — and without an investigation — is xenophobic and wrong,” and “turning these students away —many of whom simply wish to learn in a free and democratic society — is not just shortsighted but a betrayal of our values.”

On May 29, Advancing Justice I AAJC called Rubio’s announcement “another blow to international students and academia.” The organization condemned the policy as rooted in “fearmongering, racial profiling, and xenophobia,” and said, “exclusionary and discriminatory policies based on stereotypes rarely address actual national security concerns,” “fuel prejudice and unfair targeting of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans” and “have destroyed lives and careers and negatively impacted our country’s competitiveness in global innovation.”

In the Asian American Scholar Forum’s statement, Executive Director Gisela Perez Kusakawa said, “This policy threatens to dismantle the international talent pipeline that has long fueled American innovation and excellence…Treating them with blanket suspicion not only violates principles of fairness, due process, and our democratic values—it sends a chilling message to the world that America no longer welcomes global talent.”

The Committee of 100 denounced the visa policy announcement. “This new visa policy will adversely and profoundly affect our colleges and universities, research institutions, scientific discovery, and startups in ways we have yet to fully comprehend,” said Gary Locke, Chair of the Committee of 100 and former U.S. Ambassador to China.

U.S.-China Education Trust (USCET) criticized the policy as overly broad, discriminatory, and harmful to American soft power. It warned that the new visa policy “fails to distinguish between individuals who pose genuine risks and those simply seeking educational opportunities,” and “beyond undermining core American values of fairness and openness, these measures pose significant risks to U.S. economic competitiveness, soft power, and long-term diplomatic stability.” USCET said education remains the United States’ single largest service export to China, with spending by Chinese students reaching $14.4 billion USD in 2023 and creating 143,000 US jobs. 

Trump Administration Disqualified Finalists in Fulbright Selection Process for Being Related to DEI and Climate Change

On May 29, Inside Higher Ed reported that the Trump administration staged an unprecedented intervention in this year’s Fulbright selection process, rejecting finalists whose research deals with race, gender, or climate change. 

The Fulbright Commission of Norway selected 17 finalists for this year’s US Fulbright Program, a prestigious academic exchange program sponsored by the U.S. State Department and received approval from the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB) in January, but U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent an internal department cable requesting an additional step for the scholarship’s review process, which historically has entailed an initial project review by the Institute of International Education, a secondary review by a panel in the host country and final approval from the FFSB. 

The State Department ultimately nixed seven of the 17 finalists Norway selected — about 40 percent of their expected Fulbright cohort. The grounds for their rejections were “clearly political,” said Curt Rice, director of the Fulbright Commission of Norway; he said the finalists whose acceptances were overruled all had proposals that dealt with either diversity or climate change. “There is almost no precedent for them to change a list of finalists sent by a host country,” Rice concluded.

News and Activities for the Communities

APA Justice Community Calendar

 Upcoming Events:2025/05/29 U.S. v. Wen Ho Lee - 25 Years Later2025/06/01 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2025/06/02 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2025/06/03 The Second Annual State of the Science Address2025/06/15 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2025/06/15-18 2025 Applied Statistics Symposium2025/06/16-24 Discover China 2025: Summer Youth Exchange to the Greater Bay Area2025/06/29-30 2025 ICSA China ConferenceVisit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details. 

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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.