#391 Marty Gold Speaks; Section 702 Extended 10 Days; ICE Arrest Kidnapping? Danhao Wang; +

In This Issue #391

·      Marty Gold to Speak on Congressional Regrets of Chinese Exclusion Act

·      Congress Extends FISA Section 702 to April 30

·      ICE Arrest in St. Paul Possible Kidnapping

·      Who Was Danhao Wang?

·      News and Activities for the Communities

Marty Gold to Speak on Congressional Regrets of Chinese Exclusion Act

In 2011 and 2012, both houses of the U.S. Congress passed formal resolutions expressing regret for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and subsequent discriminatory laws. These bipartisan measures acknowledged that such legislation was incompatible with America's founding principles of equality and justice.

On October 6, 2011, the U.S. Senate, led by Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) and nine bipartisan cosponsors, passed Resolution 201 unanimously and expressed regret for the passage of discriminatory laws that targeted people of Chinese descent. It reaffirmed the Senate's commitment to protecting the civil rights of all people regardless of race.

On June 18, 2012, the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) and 19 bipartisan cosponsors, passed Resolution 683 unanimously and expressed regret for legislation that adversely affected Chinese immigrants because of their ethnicity.

A nonpartisan, grassroots effort, known as The 1882 Project, focused on educating lawmakers and the public about the Chinese Exclusion Laws and the impact such legislation had on our history and to raise national awareness.  The successful project was led by five national organizations:

· Chinese American Citizens Alliance

· Committee of 100

· Japanese American Citizens League

· National Council of Chinese Americans

· Organization of Chinese Americans

Martin B. Gold, an expert in legislative history and now Partner at Capitol Counsel, LLC, played a pivotal role as a key strategist and advocate in the 1882 Project. Serving as pro bono attorney for the project, he spent about 1,000 hours drafting, advocating, and advancing the proposals.  Marty also authored the book Forbidden Citizens: Chinese Exclusion and the U.S. Congress: A Legislative History in 2012, documenting the legislative history of the exclusion acts and supported the case for congressional action.

APA Justice created a timeline visualization of his 616-page book with 39 stories: https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/78461/1882-Chinese-Exclusion-Act/.

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate our culture and contributions to the United States — and to renew our commitment to justice and fairness. We are honored that Marty has agreed to join us as an invited speaker at the APA Justice monthly meeting on May 4, 2026.

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.  

Congress Extends FISA Section 702 to April 30

According to CBS News, New York Times, NPR, and multiple media reports, the House of Representatives voted in the early hours of April 17, 2026, to extend the expiring Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for 10 days.  The Senate followed a few hours later.  Congress now has until April 30 to negotiate a longer-term solution.

The standoff pits two cross-party coalitions against each other: privacy-focused lawmakers from both parties demanding warrant requirements before any long-term extension, versus national security hawks who want a clean reauthorization.

Twenty libertarian-leaning Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson and blocked both an 18-month and a 5-year extension from moving forward, despite President Donald Trump publicly pressuring Republicans to "unify" behind a no-strings-attached renewal.

If lawmakers are unable to reach a compromise by April 30 and FISA 702 is allowed to lapse, intelligence collection could continue but would likely be subject to lawsuits from technology and telecommunications companies compelled to provide communications to the government. Notably, in March 2026, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court recertified the program's surveillance procedures, meaning intelligence agencies can legally continue operating through March 2027 even if the underlying statute expires.

In an op-ed published by the New York Times on April 17, 2026, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) made a bipartisan case against reauthorizing Section 702 of FISA without meaningful reforms. While acknowledging the law's legitimate intelligence value, they argue it has enabled widespread warrantless surveillance of ordinary Americans in violation of the Fourth Amendment — abuses they note have generated rare cross-party outrage in an era of deep political division.

The abuses they cite are striking: FBI agents have searched the private communications of protesters, members of Congress, journalists, a state court judge, and 19,000 donors to a political campaign — all without a warrant.

Their proposed remedy, the Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act, would preserve the core surveillance authority while requiring court approval before the government can access the contents of Americans' communications swept up incidentally. It would also close what they call a significant loophole: federal agencies purchasing Americans' sensitive data — including cellphone location information — directly from data brokers to sidestep warrant requirements entirely. With AI potentially "supercharging" such surveillance, they warn the stakes are only growing.

Their bottom line is unequivocal: "Simply extending the law without any changes to protect Americans' privacy should be off the table."

On April 14, 2026, 53 Members of Congress — led by the Chairs of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus — sent a letter to House and Senate leadership calling for meaningful Fourth Amendment protections for Section 702 of FISA, endorsed by over 30 advocacy organizations.

Resources:

·       2026/04/16 Brennan Center for Justice: Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA): 2026 Resource Page

·       2026/03/24 APA Justice: Mass Surveillance and the ICE Crackdown: What the AAPI Community Needs to Know (1:04:32)

·       APA Justice timeline: Timeline Visualization of U.S. Mass Surveillance

·       APA Justice webpage: Warrantless Surveillance

ICE Arrest in St. Paul Possible Kidnapping

According to AP News, New York Times, and other media reports, officials in Ramsey County, which includes St. Paul, Minnesota, are investigating the warrantless arrest of ChongLy "Scott" Thao, a Hmong American U.S. citizen with no criminal record, as a potential case of kidnapping, burglary, and false imprisonment.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents bashed open the front door of Thao's St. Paul home with guns drawn, then led him outside in just his shorts and a blanket in freezing conditions. He was driven around in an ICE vehicle before being released.

Ramsey County officials say there is "no indication" agents had a warrant for entry or arrest. ICE has claimed its agents were executing a search warrant and that Thao refused to be fingerprinted or identified.

County Attorney John Choi and Sheriff Bob Fletcher have set an April 30 deadline for DHS to respond to their evidence request, after which they may sue or convene a grand jury. The case is part of broader tensions over federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota, with local officials asserting there is "no such thing as absolute immunity for federal agents."

Who Was Danhao Wang?

According to Detroit News, Michigan Daily, NBC News, South China Morning Post and multiple media reports, Chinese semiconductor researcher Danhao Wang, a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering, died by suicide on March 19, 2026, after being questioned by U.S. federal law enforcement. China's embassy in Washington confirmed the death, calling it a tragedy and accusing the U.S. of "overstretching" national security to harass Chinese students and scholars.

Wang had been at Michigan since 2022, working in the lab of a prominent semiconductor and nanomaterials professor. His research on nitride semiconductors had been cited more than 4,000 times, and the college dean described him as a "promising and brilliant young mind."

“This tragedy resonates in China because it reinforces a public perception that Chinese students in America often are subject to harassment from law enforcement officials,” said Ryan Hass, director of the John L. Thornton China Center.

The incident has reignited scrutiny of how the U.S. government investigates Chinese-born scientists. The report traces a pattern going back over a decade — from the wrongful prosecutions of hydrologist Sherry Chen and physicist Xiaoxing Xi, to the Trump administration's China Initiative launched in 2018, which was eventually shut down in 2022 amid widespread criticism of racial profiling. Two other recent deaths — Northwestern neuroscientist Jane Wu in 2024 and Arizona State professor Nongjian Tao in 2020 — have similarly raised unresolved questions about whether federal scrutiny of researchers' China ties contributed to their deaths.

News and Activities for the Communities

1. APA Justice Community Calendar

Upcoming Events:

2026/04/21 What does the Middle East war mean for Chinese Americans?

2026/05/04 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

2026/05/12-14 Celebrating 250 - Building America’s Future Together

2026/06/01 APA Justice Monthly MeetingVisit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details.

2.  APA Justice February Monthly Meeting Summary Posted

Summary for the February 2026 APA Justice monthly meeting has been posted at https://bit.ly/4epKWIL. We thank these distinguished speakers for sharing their insightful remarks and updates:

·       Judy Chu, Chair Emerita, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (introduction by Amanda Yuen, Legislative Aide)

·       Judith Teruya, Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

·       Joanna YangQing Derman, Director, Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights & National Security Program, Advancing Justice | AAJC

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

·       Frank Wu, President, Queens College, City University of New York

·       Rosie Levine, Executive Director, US-China Education Trust

·       Elizabeth Rao, Daughter of Dr. Jane Wu

3. What Does the Middle East War Mean for Chinese Americans?

WHAT: What does the Middle East war mean for Chinese Americans?

WHEN: April 21, 2026, 3:00-3:45 pm ET

WHERE: Webinar

HOST: Committee of 100

Moderator: Ben Wu, former U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce

Speaker: Thomas Krueger, Senior Policy Advisor, National Security and International Affairs, Akin Gump

DESCRIPTION: This is part of the Equity Pulse series.  Global politics moves fast. The U.S.-Iran conflict has opened space for China to assert new diplomatic influence, and the ripple effects are already being felt in U.S.-China relations. What does this mean for Chinese Americans with cross‑border family, work, and community ties?

REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/3QfWeFC

# # # 

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.