#190: Florida Lawsuit; Section 702 Webinar; AANHPI Commission; US-China Science Pact; More
In This Issue #190
Update on Florida Alien Land Bill Lawsuit - Schedule and Amicus Brief
Registration Open: June 26 Webinar on Perils of Warrantless Surveillance
Register Now: July 6 President's Advisory Commission on AANHPI Public Meeting
New Scrutiny on U.S.-China Landmark Science Deal
News for the Communities
Update on Florida Alien Land Bill Lawsuit - Schedule and Amicus Brief
According to Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA), Judge Allen C. Winsor has set the following schedule:
2023/07/03 Florida government submits its objection to the motion for preliminary injunction
2023/07/11 Plaintiffs submits its reply
2023/07/18 U.S. District Court holds hearing
The July 18 hearing will be held at 111 N. Adams Street, Tallahassee, starting at 1:30 pm ET. It will be public, but no photography and audio or video recording will be allowed. The Florida state law becomes effective on July 1, 2023. The Court may make a ruling on the injunction by early August. An immediate appeal by either side is anticipated. On June 14, 2023, 19 racial justice centers, affinity bar and professional associations, and civil rights organizations submitted a 25-page amicus curiae ("friend-of-the-court") brief in support of the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. The lead counsels are:
Madeleine K. Rodriguez, Partner, Foley Hoag LLP
Robert S. Chang, Ronald A. Peterson Law Clinic; Counsel for Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality
Rose Cuison-Villazor, Rutgers Law School; Counsel for Center for Immigration Law, Policy and Justice
Gabriel J. Chin, UC Davis School of Law; Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies
This is a list of the coalition of 19 racial justice centers, affinity bar and professional associations, and civil rights advocacy organizations:Racial Justice Centers:
Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality at Seattle University School of Law
Center for Immigration Law, Policy and Justice at Rutgers Law School
Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies at UC Davis School of Law
LLS Anti-Racism Center of LMU Loyola Law School
Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at New York University School of Law
Boston University Center for Antiracist Research
Center for Civil Rights and Racial Justice at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Affinity Bar/Professional Associations:
Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Tampa Bay
Conference of Asian Pacific American Law Faculty
Hispanic National Bar Association
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
South Asian Bar Association of North America
Civil Rights and Other Advocacy Organizations:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta
Asian American Women’s Political Initiative
Asian Law Alliance
Chinese for Affirmative Action
Japanese American Citizens League
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Read the CALDA announcement: https://bit.ly/3qU2Ah2 (in Chinese). Read the amicus brief: https://bit.ly/42DT9Q8
Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) Media Release. In response to FBI policy changes. AASF issued a media release urging the US Government to take more steps to put an end to warrantless and discriminatory investigations on June 14, 2023. AASF and other national advocacy groups have vocally agreed that the FBI announcement falls short of the level of vigilance needed to hold intelligence agencies accountable to the many human rights and privacy abuses they have perpetrated against countless numbers of people—including the nation’s top researchers and scholars that contribute greatly to the United States’ leadership in science and technology.While AASF welcomes any efforts from the federal government to create mechanisms for increased transparency and accountability of its agencies, they call on the federal government to take more serious steps to reform Section 702 and FISA, and to address the legal loopholes that allow warrantless surveillance of innocent people. Read the AASF media release: https://bit.ly/3CBhz2b
Registration Open: June 26 Webinar on Perils of Warrantless Surveillance
The Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), APA Justice, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the Committee of 100 will co-host a webinar on "Perils of Warrantless Surveillance: The Case for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Reform." (note title of the webinar has been updated)WHEN: June 26, 2023, 4:00 pm ET/1:00 pm PT
WHAT: The U.S. Constitution protects its people against unreasonable searches and seizures. However, under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the U.S. government engages in mass, warrantless surveillance of phone calls, text messages, emails, and other electronic communications between Americans and foreigners. Information collected under this law without a warrant can be used to prosecute and imprison people, even for crimes that have nothing to do with national security. Asian Americans, especially Chinese Americans and the immigrant and scientific communities, have been targeted for warrantless surveillance that led to wrongful and unjust prosecutions. The current authorization of Section 702 will expire on December 31, 2023. What should the Asian American and immigrant communities know about Section 702? If it is not sunset, what reforms will be needed? What are the next steps for the communities?
WHO:
Keynote speaker. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the first South Asian American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives; a member of the House Judiciary Committee; Ranking Member of House Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security and Enforcement
Moderator. Lillian Sing 郭丽莲. Judge (retired), California Superior Court; first Asian American woman judge in Northern California
Panelist. Gang Chen 陈刚. Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering, MIT; Member, National Academy of Sciences; prosecuted under "China Initiative" with case dismissed; "We Are All Gang Chen"
Panelist. Elizabeth Goitein. Senior Director, Liberty and National Security Program, Brennan Center for Justice
Panelist. Ashley Gorski. Senior Staff Attorney, National Security Project, American Civil Liberties Union
Panelist. Brian A. Sun 孙自华. Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright; Board Member, Committee of 100
REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/42AbNIF Additional information about the webinar including bios of the speakers and references are posted at the Warrantless Surveillance webpage: https://bit.ly/3O6T43Q
Register Now: July 6 President's Advisory Commission on AANHPI Public Meeting
The President's Advisory Commission on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) will hold its next meeting, the sixth of a series, on July 6, 2023 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The meeting serves to continue the development of recommendations to promote equity, justice, and opportunity for the AANHPI communities. It is open to the public and will be live streamed. The Commission seeks written comments that may be emailed to AANHPICommission@hhs.gov at any time. Individuals may also submit a request to provide oral public comments.For details, directions, and registration, visit: https://bit.ly/3NqpQMB.Dr. Robert Underwood, a member of the Commission, also urges all of us to feel free to communicate with him directly at anacletus2010@gmail.com. Read his remarks at the APA Justice monthly meeting: https://bit.ly/3qogBU1. Watch his remarks at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnIrq1hfl4A (video 11:48 to 25:21)
New Scrutiny on U.S.-China Landmark Science Deal
According to Reuters on June 18, 2023, for over 40 years, a landmark agreement between the United States and China has yielded cooperation across a range of scientific and technical fields, a powerful sign that the rivals could set aside their disputes and work together.Now with bilateral relations in their worst state in decades, a debate is underway within the U.S. government about whether to let the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA) expire on August 27, 2023.The agreement, signed when Beijing and Washington established diplomatic ties in 1979 and renewed about every five years since, has been hailed as a stabilizing force for the countries' relations, with collaboration in areas from atmospheric and agricultural science to basic research in physics and chemistry. It laid the foundation for a boom in academic and commercial exchanges.Inside the U.S. government, including the State Department, which leads the negotiations, there are competing views about whether to renew the pact, let it expire or renegotiate to add safeguards against industrial espionage and require reciprocity in data exchanges. Given the state of U.S.-China ties, trying to renegotiate could derail the agreement.Read the Reuters report: https://reut.rs/42M8Rsz
News for the Communities
Confirmations of Nusrat Jahan Choudhury and Dale Ho
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Senate voted 50-49 to confirm Nusrat Jahan Choudhury to serve as a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, and voted on June 14, 2023 50-49 to confirm Dale Ho to serve as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. Rep. Judy Chu, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), issued the following statement:“I am thrilled that the Senate has voted to confirm Nusrat Jahan Choudhury to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and Dale Ho to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.“Ms. Choudhury is a champion for racial justice, religious freedom, and privacy rights. While working at the ACLU, she challenged stop-and-frisk policies and the racial profiling and surveillance of Arab, South Asian, Muslim, and Sikh Americans. Ms. Choudhury’s confirmation is also historic, as she is now the first Bangladeshi American and first Muslim American woman to serve on the Federal bench.“Mr. Ho has a storied career as one of our nation’s leading civil rights lawyers and successfully argued at the Supreme Court against the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. He most recently was the director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, where he spearheaded challenges on partisan gerrymandering, restrictive state voting laws, disenfranchisement of underrepresented and marginalized communities, and more. “I offer my heartiest congratulations to Ms. Choudhury and Mr. Ho on their historic confirmations. I commend President Biden for his ongoing commitment to ensuring that our judicial system reflects the diversity of our country, and I thank Majority Leader Schumer for his leadership on these successful confirmations.”
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June 19, 2023