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Newsletter - #344 [APA Justice] 8/4 Meeting; Ohio's Bills; China Initiative Harms Science, Security, and Dr. GK Chang+ #344 [APA Justice] 8/4 Meeting; Ohio's Bills; China Initiative Harms Science, Security, and Dr. GK Chang+ In This Issue #344 · 2025/08/04 APA Justice Monthly Meeting · Ohio's Pending Alien Land Bills · Revival of China Initiative Harms US Science and Security · Dr. Gee-Kung Chang: "From Injustice to Integrity: A Journey Through Fire" · Third District Court Blocks Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Restrictions · News and Activities for the Communities 2025/08/04 APA Justice Monthly Meeting The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held on Monday, August 4, 2025, starting at 1:55 pm ET.In addition to updates from: · Judith Teruya , Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) · Joanna YangQing Derman , Program Director, Advancing Justice | AAJC · Gisela Perez Kusakawa , Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) We are honored by and welcome the following distinguished speakers: · Al Green, Member, U.S. Congress (invited) · Munira Abdullahi , Member, Ohio House of Representatives · Guangya Liu , Member, North Carolina House of Representatives · Min Fan , Executive Director, US Heartland China Association 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 . *****Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) hosted Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium and Ceremony at Stanford University on July 25-27, 2025. Picture provided by Vincent Wang , Co-Organizer of APA Justice. Ohio's Pending Alien Land Bills Ohio State Representative Munira Abdullahi is a confirmed invited speaker at the APA Justice monthly meeting on August 4, 2025. We have requested her to update us on House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 88 in Ohio, as well as several bills targeting immigrant communities and people of color this year as well.House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 88 seeks to restrict land ownership by foreign governments and nationals from “adversary” nations—particularly China—within 25 miles of military and critical infrastructure sites, citing national security concerns. Opponents argue the bill is overly broad, potentially banning ownership across nearly the entire state, and unjustly targeting ordinary immigrants and visa holders. Critics—including lawmakers, legal advocates, and hundreds of Ohio residents—warn the bill promotes racial profiling, echoes historical discrimination, and violates constitutional rights. A key forced-sale provision was removed, but the bill still faces widespread opposition and potential legal challenges. Read the Ohio Capital Journal report: https://bit.ly/4mh5m7J We thank Ohio State Representative Juanita Brent for bringing these pending bills to our attention during the APA Justice monthly meeting on June 2, 2025. Rep. Brent, the daughter of an immigrant, provided a comprehensive overview of six pending legislative bills in Ohio that raise serious concerns about discrimination against immigrants—particularly those from countries such as China and Korea. These bills reflect a broader national trend and illustrate the state's overreach into matters that should fall under federal jurisdiction. · House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 88 have drawn significant attention. They would prohibit individuals from countries the U.S. designates as adversaries from owning homes or businesses, especially near critical infrastructure. Similar legislation has been introduced in 31 other states. · Senate Bill 281 would require hospitals to allow federal immigration enforcement officers entry. Hospitals that fail to comply could lose grant funding and have their Medicaid provider agreements affected. · Senate Bill 282 proposes that courts consider a person’s immigration status when determining sentencing and bail. · House Bill 200 would create criminal penalties for unlawful presence, including fines and a 72-hour window for voluntary departure. It is currently facing opposition in the Public Safety Committee. · House Bill 42 mandates that certain agencies collect and report data on individuals’ citizenship or immigration status. It has received one hearing in the Government Oversight Committee. · House Bill 26 would require law enforcement to share information about arrestees with federal immigration authorities. It would also prohibit Ohio municipalities from providing benefits to undocumented immigrants. Municipalities that fail to comply could risk losing their Local Government Fund allocations. State Rep. Brent emphasized that these bills effectively legalize discrimination and hate—an alarming development. As a country, we have witnessed the consequences of such discrimination in the past. These proposed laws open the door to legalized bias based solely on a person’s country of origin or immigration status.State Rep. Brent stressed that immigration is a federal issue and not the responsibility of individual states. By pursuing these bills, Ohio is overstepping its authority. None of these proposals address legitimate state-level concerns, and many are likely unconstitutional. Nonetheless, they must be challenged at the state level. Revival of China Initiative Harms US Science and Security According to the South China Morning Post , the US House of Representatives is poised to advance a key spending bill that could revive the controversial “China Initiative” – a program that unfairly targeted Chinese American researchers, derailed careers and devastated lives long after it was ended in 2022. The Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill does not name the program directly, but language in the accompanying report calls for its re-establishment to “maintain America’s competitive edge” and “counter China’s malign ambitions to steal American research”.A scheduled committee meeting to debate the bill was cancelled on July 23, but experts said the provision was likely to remain as the legislation moved towards the Senate.“As a victim of the past China Initiative, I am disheartened by ongoing efforts in Congress to reinstate the misguided programme,” said Gang Chen 陈刚 , a mechanical engineer at MIT who was arrested in 2021 before all charges were dropped.“It is not only discriminatory, but also harms America’s ability to attract top global talent – ultimately weakening, not strengthening, our national security,” he said in a statement released by the Asian American Scholar Forum, a US-based non-profit organization that advocates for academic belonging and equity in Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities.Professor Chen is among more than 1,000 US researchers and university staff led by Stanford physicists Steven Kivelson and Peter Michelson in signing a letter that urged lawmakers to remove the provision. The letter, dated July 22, warned that reviving the initiative would deter talent, damage innovation and inadvertently advance China’s own recruitment efforts.Read the South China Morning Post report: https://bit.ly/4omPcvo Over 50 civil society organizations inclduing Defending Rights & Dissent have also sent a joint letter urging the full Appropriations committee to strike the provision. Dr. Gee-Kung Chang: "From Injustice to Integrity: A Journey Through Fire" Robert Fisher , Partner at Nixon Peabody, was the attorney who successfully defended MIT Professor Gang Chen 陈刚 . He spoke at the APA Justice monthly meeting on May 5, 2025, and introduced Professor Gee-Kung (GK) Chang 張繼昆 , whom Robert also represented with colleague Brian Kelly .Rob said this is a critical time for the country and for the Asian American community. Although the China Initiative was officially ended, similar prosecutions are still occurring—particularly targeting professors, scientists, and professionals with ties to China.Rob explained that GK was accused of wire fraud based on allegations that he and a colleague from ZTE conspired to misuse J-1 visa students, supposedly having them work at ZTE while being paid by Georgia Tech.However, the defense pointed out that, even according to the government’s own account, the students were working at Georgia Tech. The indictment was fundamentally flawed—it failed to allege that the financial component was the actual object of the fraud. As a result, the court dismissed most of the charges, leaving only one remaining.That final charge—visa fraud—was also challenged. GK had no role in the visa application process, and Georgia Tech had never provided training on compliance or rules regarding foreign collaboration. Without knowledge or training, there could not have been intent to defraud. Eventually, the government dropped the last remaining charge. GK was fully exonerated after a four-year ordeal under the China Initiative.GK's case highlights a broader issue: many professors were once encouraged to collaborate with China, only to later face prosecution as political attitudes shifted. These retroactive investigations have damaged careers and chilled academic collaboration, especially within the Asian American community.Professor GK Chang shared his personal account of a harrowing legal ordeal during the May 2025 APA Justice monthly meeting. Quoting his written statement titled " From Injustice to Integrity: A Journey Through Fire ," GK told his story that "I stand before you today, not as a victim of injustice, but as a witness to the power of integrity, forged in the fiercest fires of adversity. My journey was never just about reclaiming my freedom — it was about turning pain into a higher purpose, one that lights the way for those still suffering injustice."GK was born in China in 1947, moved to Taiwan as a baby during the Chinese Civil War, and came to the U.S. in 1970 for graduate studies in physics. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside in 1976 and became a U.S. citizen in 1981.With 23 years of experience in industry—including leadership roles at Bell Labs, Bellcore, Telcordia, and OpNext—GK became a pioneer in optoelectronic integration and fiber-optic communications, holding over 50 patents. He received multiple awards, including the R&D 100 Award and the Bellcore President’s Award.In 2002, he joined Georgia Tech as an Eminent Scholar Chair Professor. There, he led major NSF-sponsored research on fiber-wireless networks that laid the foundation for 5G and 6G technologies. He advised 30 Ph.D. students, published over 500 papers, and earned Fellow honors from IEEE and the Optical Society of America. He was recognized as a distinguished alumnus of National Tsing Hua University and received Georgia Tech’s Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award.On March 24, 2021, GK’s life was changed forever when nine federal agents arrested him at home without warning, accusing him of conspiracy and wire fraud under the now-defunct “China Initiative.” Despite his clean record and decades of academic and industry contributions, he was publicly indicted without prior notice. Though released on a low bail, the arrest devastated his personal and professional life. The media portrayed him as guilty, his reputation collapsed, and colleagues and friends distanced themselves, leaving him isolated and emotionally shattered.Despite being wrongfully indicted, GK stood firm, relying on his values, family, and a few loyal allies. Through careful review of over a million pages of documents with his legal team of Rob Fisher and Brian Kelly, he uncovered major flaws in the case against him: factual inaccuracies, missing evidence, and prosecutorial misconduct. The charges lacked legal grounding and were based partly on the testimony of a disgruntled former student. The government misunderstood academic norms and pursued the case without proof of intent, fraud, or personal gain—revealing a deeply flawed and unjust prosecution.Faced with multiple plea offers, including one to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor, GK refused to admit guilt for a crime he did not commit. He chose to fight on despite financial strain. A pivotal moment came in August 2023, when a prosecutor admitted in court that GK had not gained any money from the alleged offenses—contradicting the indictment’s claims. This crucial fact had been withheld from the grand jury, exposing serious prosecutorial misconduct and strengthening his case for vindication.The case shifted dramatically after the court dismissed 9 of the 10 charges on March 1, 2024. Empowered by this decision, GK demanded a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment, confident of full vindication. However, the emotional strain took a serious toll: he suffered a heart attack in May 2024 and underwent emergency surgery. As he recovered, his focus turned not just to clearing his name, but reclaiming his dignity. The ordeal was nearing its end, but had already come at a profound personal cost.The final charge was dismissed on April 14, 2025, through a motion filed by the prosecutor and approved by the judge, fully exonerating GK without a trial. Yet, the long-awaited freedom brought no joy. After four years of legal battles, he was left emotionally scarred, physically worn, and financially depleted. Professionally, the damage was irreversible—four crucial years of innovation and contribution at the peak of his career were lost forever. Despite the pain, the ordeal brought GK clarity and a renewed sense of purpose. He emerged not only as a survivor but as a seeker of truth, justice, and understanding. His faith in the justice system was shaken, as he came to see its vulnerability to error, bias, and ambition. He now believes that justice does not automatically protect the innocent and must be actively pursued with courage and conviction. Upholding what is right requires strength, even in the face of overwhelming adversity—because justice is never guaranteed, only earned. Quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , GK concluded his statement by stating: "I share my testimony, 'A Journey Through Fire,' not for sympathy, but as a warning—and as a beacon."To those suffering similar injustice:"You are not alone."And by standing together,"we can help ensure that no one else must endure this tribulation again." Read the story of Professor GK Chang: https://bit.ly/GeeKungChang . Read his statement " From Injustice to Integrity: A Journey Through Fire ." Watch the video of Robert Fisher and GK Chang at the APA Justice monthly meeting on May 5, 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbh1EkabX6I (19:00). Third District Court Blocks Trump's Birthright Citizenship Restrictions According to AP , Newsweek , The Hill , and multiple media reports, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin of Massachusetts blocked the Trump administration from ending birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented or temporary immigrants. This marks the third court ruling to do so, despite a recent Supreme Court decision limiting nationwide injunctions.Judge Sorokin found the executive order unconstitutional in a 23-page ruling . He said a patchwork approach to the birthright order would not protect the states in part because a substantial number of people move between states. He also blasted the Trump administration, saying it had failed to explain how a narrower injunction would work. “That is, they have never addressed what renders a proposal feasible or workable, how the defendant agencies might implement it without imposing material administrative or financial burdens on the plaintiffs, or how it squares with other relevant federal statutes,” the judge wrote. “In fact, they have characterized such questions as irrelevant to the task the Court is now undertaking. The defendants’ position in this regard defies both law and logic.”Sorokin acknowledged his order would not be the last word on birthright citizenship. Trump and his administration “are entitled to pursue their interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, and no doubt the Supreme Court will ultimately settle the question,” Sorokin wrote. “But in the meantime, for purposes of this lawsuit at this juncture, the Executive Order is unconstitutional.” For now, Trump's order remains blocked.Judge Sorokin's ruling aligned with the U.S. District Court in New Hampshire and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals covering the western states inclduing California. The issue will likely be decided by the Supreme Court. News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2025/07/28 (Digital) Travel Safety and Security Training2025/07/29 C100 Conversations – “Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes” with Linda Chao Yang2025/07/29 From Heartland to Mainland: 2025 Future Ag Leaders Delegation2025/07/29 Bridging Generations of U.S.-China Education Exchange: American Scholars to China2025/07/31 (Digital) Travel Safety and Security Training2025/07/31-08/10 Asian American International Film Festival2025/08/02-07 2025 Joint Statistical Meetings2025/08/04 APA Justice Monthly MeetingVisit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details. # # # 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 . Back View PDF July 28, 2025 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #282 Combating New McCarthyism; AASF Forum With NIH; Dr. Zhijian "James" Chen; More #282 Combating New McCarthyism; AASF Forum With NIH; Dr. Zhijian "James" Chen; More In This Issue #282 · AIP: House Pushes to Resurrect China Initiative · AASF Forum with the National Institutes of Health · Dr. Zhijian “James” Chen Wins “America’s Nobel” · News and Activities for the Communities AIP: House Pushes to Resurrect China Initiative According to the American Institute of Physics (AIP) on September 18, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to reinstate the Justice Department’s China Initiative under a new name. The bill known as H.R. 1398 passed on a vote of 237-180, with support from 214 Republicans and 23 Democrats.The legislation is unlikely to advance in the Democrat-controlled Senate, where the companion bill has only Republican cosponsors. In addition, the White House issued a statement strongly opposing the bill, stating it “could give rise to incorrect and harmful public perceptions that DOJ applies a different standard to investigate and prosecute criminal conduct related to the Chinese people or to American citizens of Chinese descent.”Rising in opposition to the bill, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said that resurrecting the “misguided” China Initiative would represent a “clear step backwards.”“The China Initiative did not just waste valuable resources. If you were a person of Chinese descent working in American higher education, you were a suspect,” said Nadler, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. “Rather than keeping America safe, the China Initiative divided workplaces, ruined careers, and contributed to anti-Asian hate at the height of the pandemic,” he added.Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, also took to the House floor in opposition to the bill. She described the China Initiative as “the new McCarthyism,” referring to fears of communist influence in the U.S. during the Cold War that were stoked by Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI). “McCarthyism had deadly effects in the 1950s and so does the China Initiative, harming our country’s competitive edge by casting a chilling effect on our academic community,” Chu said. “While we all want to stop American secrets from being stolen, investigations should be based on evidence of criminal activity, not race and ethnicity.” “This bill would essentially re-establish the DOJ’s harmful and ineffective China Initiative, in all but name,” said Joanna Derman , director of anti-racial profiling, civil rights, and national security for Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, in an email. “Instead of reviving a program that we know led to the racial profiling of Asian immigrant and Asian American scientists, we should be discussing policy solutions that would actually attract and retain top talent in critical STEM fields,” Derman continued. Last week’s vote is not the first time that the House has attempted to reinstate the China Initiative — a similar provision is in the House’s appropriations bill for DOJ. Various advocacy groups representing Asian Americans, such as the Asian American Scholar Forum and Stop AAPI Hate, have called for Congress to remove the provision from the final version of the appropriations bill.AIP is a non-profit organization that promotes the advancement and dissemination of knowledge in the field of physics and related disciplines. Founded in 1931, it serves as a federation of scientific societies, supporting the physics community through a variety of initiatives, including publications, advocacy, education, and outreach.Read the AIP report: https://bit.ly/47yU0FU . Read the White House statement: https://bit.ly/3XvIXJ1 What is McCarthyism? McCarthyism refers to a period of intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States during the early Cold War, particularly in the late 1940s and 1950s. Named after Senator Joseph McCarthy , it is characterized by widespread accusations of communist infiltration in American institutions, often without substantial evidence. The movement targeted government officials, entertainment industry figures, educators, and union leaders, among others, accusing them of being Soviet sympathizers or communist spies. McCarthyism led to investigations by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and loyalty tests for federal employees. Many individuals lost their jobs, were blacklisted from industries (especially in Hollywood), or faced public shaming. The era also created a climate of fear and repression, where dissenting political views were suppressed.The term "McCarthyism" now broadly refers to the practice of making baseless accusations or using unfair investigative methods to suppress dissent and stoke public fear. The movement began to collapse in 1954 after McCarthy's own credibility was questioned during the televised Army-McCarthy hearings. The famous moment during the hearings came when Joseph Welch , an attorney for the Army, confronted McCarthy with the line, "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" This marked a turning point in public opinion against McCarthy, leading to his censure by the U.S. Senate, and the eventual end of the era.McCarthyism left a lasting impact on American politics and culture, often viewed as a cautionary tale about the dangers of political persecution and mass hysteria.Watch the PBS video clip "Have You No Decency?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svUyYzzv6VI (5:46) Book Chapter on New Red Scare The FBI has a long history of surveillance of ethnic Chinese scientists in the United States. McCarthyism, the Economic Espionage Act, and more recently the China Initiative were initiatives adversely impacting Chinese and Chinese Americans living in the U.S. The stereotypes of Asian and Chinese scientists as “disloyal” stem from the perpetual foreigner trope. The key here is that most of them were U.S. citizens. They are as much an American as any other American, yet their “loyalty” is perceived as less trustworthy. This stereotype has harmful, life-altering consequences.Read this and other chapters from the book Communicated Stereotypes at Work by Anastacia Kurylo (Editor, Contributor), Yifeng Hu (Editor, Contributor), Wilfredo Alvarez (Contributor), & 29 more. ASIN:B0CSK2PGY3. Lexington Books (May 15, 2024) Opinion on Don't Bring "China Initiative" Back and More Statements On September 19, 2024, The Hill published an opinion by Mike German, senior fellow in the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program and a former FBI special agent. According to the opinion, allies of Donald Trump aim to revive the China Initiative, a failed Trump-era program targeting economic espionage by Chinese agents, which led to racial profiling and harm to U.S. science. The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 proposes its return, while Congress recently passed a bill to rebrand it as the "CCP Initiative."Originally launched in 2018, the China Initiative became a tool for targeting Chinese and Asian American researchers, rather than catching spies, leading to a chilling effect on scientific research. Although FBI Director Christopher Wray claimed widespread China-related misconduct, most investigations did not result in espionage convictions, instead focusing on minor administrative offenses.Read The Hill opinion by Mike German: https://bit.ly/47yBPQI Read more statements condemning the revival of the China Initiative:2024/09/20 1990 Institute: The 1990 Institute condemns H.R.1398, legislation that reestablishes the China Initiative 2024/09/18 AAASE: Open Letter to Congress 2024/09/18 OCA: OCA Condemns Measures Fueling Xenophobia and Discrimination 2024/09/09 ACE: Letter to House Leaders AASF Forum with the National Institutes of Health On September 19, the Asian American Scholars Forum (AASF) hosted a public forum with leadership from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The speakers included NIH Director Dr. Monica M. Bertagnolli and NIH Principal Deputy Director Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak . AASF Executive Director Gisela Kusakawa moderated the forum. In her opening remarks, Dr. Bertagnolli acknowledged the valuable contributions of Asian scholars to the U.S. scientific community and reaffirmed NIH's commitment to building relationships with Asian scholars to address the most challenging research challenges in health sciences collaboratively. Dr. Bertagnolli expressed deep concern over the fallout that the U.S. government’s efforts to address troubling actions from China have had on Asian scholars and the difficulties they face. She stated, "We are here to tell you: we hear you, and we see you. We are ready to work together with you as partners in a productive manner."Kusakawa asked about Dr. Bertagnolli’s vision for NIH in the future, and how NIH can create a warm and welcoming environment to protect and empower Asian scholars. Dr. Bertagnolli highlighted that one of NIH’s strengths is its inclusiveness, which brings together the best scientists from diverse backgrounds to address cutting-edge scientific challenges. She noted that ensuring that Asian scholars feel welcome in this environment is crucial. She also noted that rebuilding trust in NIH among Asian scholars, especially those who have lost confidence in the government and NIH, remains an ongoing effort.Dr. Bertagnolli listed a number of steps to make Asian American scholars feel included and welcomed at NIH. She said that today’s forum was aimed at clearing up misunderstandings, and listening to the voices of Asian scholars. She also said NIH will provide more training on research integrity, use new disclosure forms, and explain NIH’s new policy matrix, which further clarifies NIH’s response to foreign adverse influence. She thanked Asian American organizations including AASF for their input in developing these policies. Kusakawa mentioned the recent passage of a bill in the House of Representatives attempting to reinstate the China Initiative and asked how NIH handles political pressure while protecting Asian scholars from excessive scrutiny and maintaining the integrity of NIH research. Dr. Bertagnolli said this was a very important question and emphasized that, regardless of the political climate, NIH remains committed to ensuring the quality and integrity of the research it funds. These policies, on the one hand, are a responsibility to taxpayers and, on the other, help protect researchers from undue foreign influence, which has long been a core principle of NIH policy, well understood by researchers.Dr. Bertagnolli specifically emphasized that, in 2022, NIH began updating its Policies & Procedures for Promoting Scientific Integrity in response to a presidential memorandum. Dr. Bertagnolli reiterated that maintaining research integrity and protecting it from harmful foreign influence has always been NIH’s policy.During the subsequent session, NIH Principal Deputy Director Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak continued to answer questions from AASF. In his responses, Dr. Tabak denied that NIH specifically targeted Chinese researchers based on their ethnicity and stressed that NIH’s investigations targeted certain behaviors that potentially violate the agency’s policy, not focused on individuals. He clarified two additional misunderstandings: first, that NIH is not involved in the now-defunct Department of Justice's China Initiative; and second, that NIH does not have the authority to stop research funding to an institution or university due to the actions of an individual.Dr. Tabak also mentioned that while NIH does not have the power to suggest actions to members of Congress proactively, it always cooperates when lawmakers request technical explanations and support. NIH can use these opportunities to clarify relevant issues to legislators and educate them on specific issues. Kusakawa further raised the issue of how to overcome the underrepresentation of Asian scholars in leadership positions. Dr. Tabak explained that NIH’s previous approach was to train senior researchers with the hope that they would move into leadership roles. Now, however, they have begun training younger researchers hoping to address the problem more effectively.Finally, Dr. Tabak praised the work of organizations like AASF. He stated that NIH looks forward to collaborating with AASF and universities to strengthen connections with Asian scholars. More than 600 people registered for the forum, and over 60 questions were submitted. The record of this event will be available publicly. Juan Zhang , editor at US-China Perception Monitor, contributed this report. Comments and Questions Submitted by APA Justice APA Justice submitted the following comments and questions for the AASF Forum with NIH:"Dr. Bertagnolli’s recent statement was an important first step. The forum is another positive step to repair relationships and rebuild trust."While it is important to turn the page and move forward, it is equally essential to reflect on what went wrong and the lessons learned from all sides over the past six years—particularly with the looming threat of a China Initiative revival."Over the past six years, both intended and unintended consequences have emerged. Hundreds if not thousands of researchers, an overwhelming proportion of them were of Chinese origin, were placed under suspicion, surveilled, investigated, or prosecuted—many of them continue to this day. More than 100 scientists and researchers lost their jobs and had their reputation and finances ruined. At least two prominent Chinese American researchers—one from Northwestern University and another from Arizona State University—died by suicide, reportedly as a result of inquiries or investigations initiated by the NIH."Does the NIH believe all these scientists and researchers were treated fairly and justly? Will the NIH conduct a review of some, if not all, of these cases to assess the fairness of the process and hearing of their appeals? Will the NIH work with institutions, faculty, and the Asian American and scientific communities to establish a consistent due process framework, ensuring that the accused have a fair opportunity to refute charges and defend themselves?" Dr. Zhijian “James” Chen Wins “America’s Nobel” According to Forbes , South China Morning Post , and multiple media on September 19, 2024, Dr. Zhijian “James” Chen 陈志坚 won the 2024 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, which is also known as "America's Nobel."Dr. Chen is Professor of Molecular Biology and Director of the Center for Inflammation Research at University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center and the George L. MacGregor Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science. He was recognized for his discovery of the cGAS enzyme that senses pathogens like viruses and bacteria and triggers the body’s immune system. His work provides clues for new treatments of cancer and other diseases.“Dr. Chen’s research has elucidated the process by which our bodies fight off invasive pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and other microbes, through the detection of wayward intracellular nucleic acids. Insights into this signaling pathway provide a foundation for new approaches to the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases as well as vaccine development,” said Daniel K. Podolsky , M.D., President of UTSW. Shan-Lu Liu , a professor of virology at Ohio State University, also said that Dr. Chen's discovery had "opened new avenues" for understanding autoimmune diseases. "Dr Chen's work not only enhances our understanding of immune mechanisms, but also provides potential strategies for treating diseases linked to immune dysregulation," Dr. Liu said.Dr. Chen is the fourth UTSW faculty member to win a Lasker Award. The previous three winners are all Nobel laureates. The Lasker Awards recognize significant achievements in medicine and biomedical research. Since 1945, the Lasker Foundation has awarded more than 400 prizes to outstandig scientists and clinical researchers. A total of six individuals were recognized this year with awards in three categories — basic research, clinical research, and public service. Each award carries a stipend of $250,000.Dr. Chen is the sixth scientist of Chinese origin to receive a Lasker Award. He is also the second Chinese recipient in the basic research category, more than six decades after biochemist Choh Hao Li , who won in 1962. Dr. Chen, 58, was born in a rural area of China's southeastern Fujian province. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in biology from Fujian Normal University in 1985, he won an overseas scholarship to the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he earned a PhD in biochemistry in 1991. He set up a lab at UTSW in 1997 and was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2014. Read the Forbes report: https://bit.ly/3zDR9yK . Read the South China Morning Post report: https://bit.ly/3Bm3doN News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events:2024/09/25 C100: State of Chinese American Survey 2024 2024/09/25-26 APAICS Technology Summit2024/09/26 White House Initiative AA& NHPI Policy Summit2024/09/27 The War for Chinese Talent in America: The Politics of Technology and Knowledge in Sino-U.S. Relations2024/09/29 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/10/02 C100: Asian American Career Ceiling Initiative2024/10/06 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/10/07 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2024/10/08 Media Training for Election Season2024/10/10 China in the Heartland: Building a Balanced Approach2024/10/11 China and the World Forum (Virtual): China-U.S.: Destined for War or Inevitable Peace?The Community Calendar has moved. Visit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details. 2. APA Justice Newsletter Web Page Moving to New Website As part of its continuing migration to a new website under construction, we are moving the Newsletter webpage to https://www.apajusticetaskforce.org/newsletters . Content of the existing website will remain, but it will no longer be updated. We value your feedback about the new web page. Please send your comments to contact@apajustice.org . Back View PDF September 25, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #380 3/2 Meeting; Jane Wu Lawsuit; Birthright Citizenship; Higher Ed Mission; UMichigan; + #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 re presents 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 Cheng Visit 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 . Back View PDF February 28, 2026 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

COVID-19 This item is connected to a text field in your content manager. Double click the dataset icon to add your own content. The numbers Calls per hour 111 Feedback submitted 22 Average feedback per call 21 As of May 28, 2023, there are 33 states known to have introduced some form of alien land and property bills in the current or recent legislative session. A few have passed and signed into state law; some have died; others are still pending. State-by-state links to the legislations and a companion map are provided below as community resources. They are collected from multiple sources including research by APA Justice, Advancing Justice | AAJC, Committee of 100, National Agricultural Law Center, Project South, media reports, and crowdsourcing. Due to the dynamic nature of these developments, we plan to update the information periodically. We anticipate the introduction or continuation of alien land and property bills into future state legislative sessions. Title Oct. 4th 2023 Tracking Bills Read More Latest developments

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Newsletter - #95 "China Initiative;" OSTP; ACLU, Sherry Chen, Mass Surveillance; 11/01 Meeting Summary #95 "China Initiative;" OSTP; ACLU, Sherry Chen, Mass Surveillance; 11/01 Meeting Summary Back View PDF November 10, 2021 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Xin Zhao, a prize-winning Ph.D. from the College of William & Mary in Virginia, was forced to flee the U.S. after a federal investigation that included a failed sting, airport stops and an unfounded child-porn search. July 18, 2019 On July 18, 2019, Bloomberg reported on the story of Xin Zhao, a prize-winning Ph.D. from the College of William & Mary in Virginia, whose startup fled the U.S. after a federal investigation that included a failed sting, airport stops and an unfounded child-porn search. “My dream was defeated,” says Zhao, whose crew-cut and boyish face belie the brash candor with which he tells his story. “I came here for freedom and security. Now fear is pushing us back to China.” Inventors with Chinese last names account for one out of every 10 new patents in the U.S. today, up from less than 2% in 1975. While China lost more than 50,000 inventors to emigration from 2002 to 2011, the U.S. welcomed a net gain of more than 190,000, as measured by patent registrations, according to data compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization, an arm of the United Nations. Xin Zhao, a prize-winning Ph.D. from the College of William & Mary in Virginia, was forced to flee the U.S. after a federal investigation that included a failed sting, airport stops and an unfounded child-porn search. Previous Next U.S. Targeting of Chinese Scientists Fueling a Brain Drain

3. Geopolitics, Identity, and the Fight for Civil Rights 2025-2026 Global Tensions Local Dimensions Wednesday, June 3, 2026 As geopolitical ties between the United States and China remain unsteady, the impact extends beyond diplomacy and into the lived experiences of people at home. For diaspora communities, shifts in foreign policy can shape everything from public perception to legal protections, raising complex questions about identity, belonging, and rights. The third webinar in this series examines the downstream effects of U.S. foreign policy through both a historical and contemporary lens. Drawing parallels across time, the conversation will explore how periods of international strain have influenced domestic policies and legal interpretations—from immigration restrictions to citizenship rights—and how these dynamics continue to evolve today. The session will explore how narratives of rivalry and suspicion can translate into real-world consequences for communities with heritage ties to countries at the center of geopolitical tension. We will discuss the tradeoffs policymakers face and provide a nuanced understanding of how national priorities intersect with civil liberties. Participants are encouraged to bring questions and perspectives as we explore what it means to navigate global tensions at a local, human level. The views expressed by the panelists are their own and do not represent the views of their employer or any organization with which they are affiliated. Previous Item Next Item

Newsletter - #253 Forum with FBI; US-China Tensions; Graduate Assistants United; AASF Video Competition #253 Forum with FBI; US-China Tensions; Graduate Assistants United; AASF Video Competition In This Issue #253 · Forum Announced: "A Dialogue Between Academic/APA Communities With The FBI" · The Impact of U.S.-China Tensions on Asian Americans in Government · Graduate Assistants United Rally Against Florida SB 846 · AASF: Video Competition to Honor Asian American Scientists · News and Activities for the Communities Forum Announced: "A Dialogue Between Academic/APA Communities With The FBI" During the APA Justice monthly meeting on May 6, 2024, Nabila Mansoor, President, Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition (TMAC), and Dr. Kenneth M. Evans, Scholar in Science and Technology Policy, Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, announced that TMAC and the Baker Institute and Office of Innovation at Rice University will co-host a joint forum with APA Justice on "A Dialogue Between Academic/AAPI Communities with The FBI." WHAT: A Dialogue Between Academic/AAPI Communities with The FBI WHEN: June 6, 2024, 4:00 - 6:00 pm Central Time WHERE: In-person, Rice University, Houston, Texas; virtual Zoom webinar information to be announced HOSTS: Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition (TMAC); Baker Institute for Public Policy and Office of Innovation at Rice University; APA Justice SPEAKERS: · Neal Lane , Senior Fellow, Baker Institute; Former Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy · Gordon Quan , Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Quan Law Group · David Donatti , Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU of Texas · Gisela Perez Kusakawa , Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum · Jill Murphy , Deputy Assistant Director for Counterintelligence, FBI Headquarters · Douglas Williams, Jr. , Special Agent in Charge, FBI Houston · Georgette "GiGi" Pickering , Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI Houston · Kelly Choi , Supervisory Special Agent, FBI Houston More information about the forum will be announced when they become available. The Impact of U.S.-China Tensions on Asian Americans in Government A morning session at the Committee 100 conference on April 19, 2024, explored the nuanced potential barriers to career advancement that spin from the tensions with China, the complexities of obtaining security clearances, and the uncomfortable scrutiny regarding loyalty that Asian Americans endure due to concerns over foreign influence.Congressman Andy Kim, a Korean American, was not able to participate in the session due to a vote in the House of Representatives. A clip of his interview with MSNBC in 2021 was played to open the session. Congressman Kim revealed that when he worked at the State Department, he had a top secret security clearance and worked in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he was told one day that he was banned from working on issues related to the Korean Peninsula although he did not apply to work on such issues. It left him with the feeling that his own country didn't trust him for some reason because of his last name and because of his heritage although he was born in the United States. He was banned from working on these issues because of concerns about his loyalty and xenophobia. It was deeply hurtful. It took him some time to be able to talk about the episode because part of him wanted to just keep his head down and keep working and show through his hard work that this is wrong. He eventually came to realize that he cannot just assume that these issues of racism will just get better. We have to stand up and speak out on behalf of the victims and many others who are frightened, he said. Congressman Kim delivered brief remarks at the evening gala: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP3RlXrHIcA (2:03). He is married to a Chinese American, and they have two young boys. He also served as a United States National Security Council official under the Obama Administration. Congressman Kim has represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district since 2019 and is running for the U.S. Senate in 2024. Dr. Jiashen You , Chair of the Asian American Government Executive Network (AAGEN), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to promote, expand, and support Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander leadership in Government, followed with a 3-slide presentation . Starting with a report published by the Partnership for Public Service, Dr. You quoted a report released by the Partnership for Public Service on trends over 25 years of the Senior Executive Service (SES), the highest level for civil career servants in the federal government. He then shared that the "bamboo ceiling" still exists for Asian Americans to make the leap to an SES, despite the community seeing rapid growth in its share in recent years. He ended the presentation by highlighting the security denial rates for people with family or financial ties to China [link to Bloomberg article https://bit.ly/4b7jWZW . In addition, Dr. You recounted his personal experience hearing about Dr. Wen Ho Lee 's case being widely reported during his semester in college and living in America. Despite being capable of receiving clearance in the past, the impact of the "perpetual foreigner" notion deterred him from applying to many senior-level jobs that require top-secret clearance, leading to an even narrower window of opportunities. This is not an uncommon experience for first-generation Asian American government employees. Carol Lam , Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, presented a primer on security clearance and remarked that federal policy sets out the aggravating and mitigating factors to be considered in denying or granting security clearance. However, those factors take on more or less weight depending on political relationships between the United States and the country of concern, rendering the final decision somewhat subjective. Ms. Lam noted the importance of keeping the nation's attention on potential unfair biases in security clearance decisions in order to prevent those biases from becoming entrenched. Ms. Lam did note one positive development in the form of Secretary of State Blinken's decision in March 2023 to lift many State Department assignment restrictions based on employees' country of origin or familial or financial relationships in that country. Chuck Rosenburg , Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, remarked that all nations in the world spy on each other, including China and the United States, with the possible exception of the "five eyes" nations of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The session was moderated by Paula Madison , Chair and CEO, 88 Madison Media Inc. and a member of the Committee of 100. Graduate Assistants United Rally Against Florida SB 846 Graduate Assistants United (GAU) has been a labor union at the University of Florida (UF) since 1972. It represents 4,400 graduate assistants and research assistants at UF. It was a major organizer of the rally against Florida Senate Bill (SB) 846, which is also called the "Countries of Concern" bill, in Gainesville, Florida, on March 26, 2024. Eva Garcia Ferres , Co-President of GAU, published a report on the rally in the April/May edition of the Gainesville Iguana . According to her report, SB 846 does not specifically prohibit the admission of applicants, but it does create a very important and hostile roadblock for prospective graduate assistants, postdocs, and faculty members. The bill requires an extra screening conducted by a Research Integrity Office. The screening is supposed to verify all attendance, employment, publications, and contributions listed in the application prior to any interview or offer of a position to the applicant.The first problem is logistical. Many graduate applications are due early to late December, and many interviews are offered and conducted around early spring. There are over 4,000 graduate assistants at University of Florida, approximately half of graduate assistants are international students, and of the international student population a substantial portion come from China and Iran. This means that for every application cycle, the Research Integrity Office would need to thoroughly vet and make risk assessments for all applicants within a very limited timeline. The capacity and ability of the Research Integrity Office to do so is questioned. The second point of concern is the lack of transparency regarding the Research Integrity Office and the guidelines they are to use to make the risk assessments. Neither the bill itself nor the Board of Governors’ guidelines provide a definition of risk or a way to measure risk. It thus must fall upon the University and the Research Integrity Office to create the standard and apply it. The offices have not responded to these inquiries.In addition, there are draconian consequences for those who "fail" the screening (i.e., those who are deemed a risk, whatever that may be) because they will be reported to the FBI and any other law enforcement agency as determined by the Board of Governors.The Board of Governors’ guidelines reserve the right to make decisions about applicants and collaborations with entities from the seven countries based on their “value.” The report asks, "How is value determined? What makes the Board of Governors or the Research Integrity Office better suited for determining the value of international applicants and collaborations than the experts in the field?" "We know that applicants are being denied admission offers, that faculty cannot hire their top applicants, and that researchers cannot collaborate with prominent scholarsin the field purely because of nationality," the report said.If departments and faculty cannot hire their top applicants, then research and teaching will suffer. If the University will not accept visiting professors and scholars from“countries of concern,” then the University will miss on key expertise, new perspectives, and important scholarly connections. Learning and innovation are the pillars ofacademia. They are pursued in collaboration and cannot flourish in echo chambers and monoculture settings. They lead to the destruction of academic freedom. Decisions on who to hire, what to teach, and what to research have always been made by experts in the field, but this is no longer the case in Florida, the GAU report concludes.Read the Gainesville Iguana report: https://bit.ly/3ULrHze A lawsuit against Florida SB 846 was filed with the Southern District Court of Florida on March 25, 2024: Yin v. Diaz (1:24-cv-21129) AASF: Video Competition to Honor Asian American Scientists WHAT: Video Competition to Honor Asian American Scientists WHEN: Contest Period: 12:00:01 am Eastern Time (ET) on May 1 through 11:59:59 pm ET on June 7, 2024 ET. WHO CAN PARTICIPATE: Legal residents of the 50 US states or DC who are age 14 - 18 who participate with their parent or guardian’s consent OFFICIAL RULES: https://bit.ly/4bnrPKN PRIZES : Each prize is a $1,000 Visa gift card. 40 prizes available across various categories. Prizes will be awarded to the parent/guardian of each winner, not the entrant. DESCRIPTION: Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by showcasing the achievements of prominent Asian American scientists. High schoolers are invited to create and share short videos highlighting these scientists, competing for a chance to win a $1,000 visa gift card. Multiple prizes available. HOW TO ENTER: https://bit.ly/3UtbrS5 News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2024/05/13-14 2024 APAICS Legislative Leadership Summit2024/05/14 2024 APAICS: 30th Annual Awards Gala2024/05/14 Serica Initiative: 7th Annual Women's Gala Dinner2024/05/22 Heritage, Culture, and Community: The Future of America's Chinatowns2024/06/02 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/06/03 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2024/06/06 A Dialogue Between Academic/AAPI Communities with The FBIVisit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. Back View PDF May 8, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #402 NSF to Ban Most Research with China; National APA Museum; More ICE Shootings; + #402 NSF to Ban Most Research with China; National APA Museum; More ICE Shootings; + In This Issue #402 · NSF Moves to Ban Nearly All Research Collaborations With China · National APA Museum Commission Opens Comments as Trump Administration Report Defends Chinese Exclusion Act · ICE Shootings Mount as Trump Undercuts Reported DHS Vehicle-Stop Pause · News and Activities for the Communities NSF Moves to Ban Nearly All Research Collaborations With China Over the past several months, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has undergone the most significant governance disruption in its 76-year history — a dismantling of independent oversight that coincided with one of the most sweeping policy shifts in the agency's history: a near-total ban on research collaborations with China. Trump Fired the Entire National Science Board It started on April 24, 2026, when President Trump fired all 22 sitting members of the National Science Board (NSB) — the independent body that has jointly overseen NSF alongside its director since the agency's founding in 1950. Members received a terse email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office informing them their positions were "terminated, effective immediately," with no explanation given. The NSB's staggered six-year terms were specifically designed to insulate science funding decisions from short-term political pressure. Dismissed member Keivan Stassun (Vanderbilt) suggested the board's public criticism of Trump's proposed 55% NSF budget cut in May 2025 may have "antagonized the administration." Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the House Science Committee's ranking Democrat, called the firing "the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to harm science," and later led 31 House Democrats in a letter demanding the board's reinstatement. The move left NSF without both a board and a permanent director — Sethuraman Panchanathan had resigned in April 2025, and Trump's nominee to replace him, Jim O'Neill , still has not been confirmed by the Senate. As of late May 2026, the American Association for the Advancement of Science was still publicly pressing the Senate HELP Committee for an open confirmation hearing, and no replacements for the 22 dismissed NSB seats had been announced. With no confirmed director and no board, day-to-day authority has fallen to career staff: Brian Stone as acting director, and Rebecca Spyke Keiser — NSF's chief of research security — as acting chief of staff. A Sweeping New China Policy Emerged It is against this backdrop of leadership vacancies — an agency with neither a confirmed director nor a seated independent board — that NSF announced a sweeping new policy in July prohibiting U.S. scientists it funds from collaborating with nearly all Chinese research institutions and their employees. The policy, first reported by Science on July 10, 2026, and covered by South China Morning Post on July 14, 2026, marks a major reversal from NSF's earlier approach of weighing risks and benefits on a case-by-case basis. Under the new policy, NSF will bar interactions with employees of "restricted entities" — hundreds of major Chinese universities, national laboratories, and other research institutions identified on lists maintained by the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. Senior and key personnel on NSF awards will be prohibited from holding appointments at these institutions, receiving research support from them, or collaborating with them on NSF-funded work. The move replaces NSF's "Trusted Research Using Safeguards and Transparency" (TRUST) framework, introduced in 2024 to assess national security risks in grant proposals while still allowing collaboration to continue. At the time, Keiser — then NSF's chief of research security, now its acting chief of staff — argued that "we cannot continue to lead the world in science and innovation if we are fixated on achieving zero risk." That balancing act now appears to be over, at least with respect to China and other countries deemed national security threats: NSF's new guidance states plainly that "research security risk mitigation for NSF-funded projects involving these restricted entities is not sufficient." It is not publicly known whether the now-vacant National Science Board would have reviewed or weighed in on a policy of this scope had it still been seated — the board's precise role in this type of decision has not been reported. What is clear is that the policy was finalized during a period when NSF's normal channels of independent, external review were unusually thin. The shift also brings NSF in line with the Department of Defense, which tightened its own research security rules in January 2026, following a 2025 investigation by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party that found roughly 1,400 research papers published between June 2023 and June 2025 involved collaboration with Chinese entities — more than half of them affiliated with China's defense research and industrial base. A Pending Broader OMB Rule The restricted-entity list is not comprehensive. Tsinghua University, for instance, is not currently included — despite recently hiring away 2025 Nobel Chemistry laureate Omar Yaghi from UC Berkeley. A broader rule proposed separately by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would bar collaboration with entire "countries of concern," including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, rather than relying on institution-by-institution lists. Political and Diplomatic Reaction Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, praised the policy as "commendable and commonsense," saying it "will protect taxpayer-funded research and innovation," and called on other federal agencies to follow the Pentagon and NSF's lead. China's government pushed back. Liu Chang , a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said U.S.-China science and technology cooperation is "inherently mutually beneficial" and urged American institutions to promote rather than restrict such exchanges. Some U.S. scientists are similarly critical. Stanford physicist Peter Michelson , who last year organized a faculty petition against similar restrictions Moolenaar tried to insert into defense policy legislation, called the NSF policy "very damaging" to U.S. science. China policy expert Denis Simon , former executive vice chancellor of Duke Kunshan University, warned that the policy hands Moolenaar "an open playing field to put anybody on the [banned] list." Open Questions Much remains undefined, including what actually counts as a "collaboration." It is unclear whether the ban extends to casual conversations at conferences or to co-authored papers where researchers worked independently. NIH and NASA appear to already be restricting co-authorship with foreign scientists under similar reasoning, and Kevin Wozniak of the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) notes that NIH treats co-authorship as "a factor" — though not necessarily proof — of prohibited collaboration. What is Next NSF is accepting public comments on the policy and plans to finalize it in updated grantee instructions taking effect October 1, 2026 — the start of federal fiscal year 2027, when NSF says the policy will be fully implemented. Keiser and counterparts from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy's Office of Science are scheduled to testify before Moolenaar's committee on July 15, 2026. Observers, including Simon, say they do not expect the hearing or public feedback to meaningfully alter the policy's course. Whether an eventually reconstituted National Science Board — or a confirmed director — will have any opportunity to revisit the policy remains an open question. National APA Museum Commission Opens Comments as Trump Administration Report Defends Chinese Exclusion Act The National Asian Pacific American Museum Commission is conducting a series of virtual information sessions to gather public input on the creation of a future national museum. These sessions are designed to engage the community, hear feedback, and discuss what a future museum could look like. They include Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Community Leaders , South Asian Community Leaders , and Students and Youth sessions. The Commission also encourages you to share your voice by submitting a public comment. Every story, perspective, and experience matters. Together, our voices can help ensure that the many histories, cultures, and contributions of Asian Pacific Americans are recognized and reflected in this important national effort. The Commission’s link to submit a public comment is located here: https://bit.ly/4gJhVct . Please submit your comment by July 31, 2026. The bipartisan Commission, established by Congress in 2022 (Public Law 117-140) and formally launched in June 2025, is completing its nationwide tour. It is entering its final stretch toward an October 2026 report to Congress and the President, which will lay out a comprehensive plan for establishing, funding, and maintaining the museum, including site selection and projected costs. Trump Administration Report Defends the Chinese Exclusion Act Separately, the White House Domestic Policy Council released a report on July 4 titled Saving America's Story: How Ideological Capture at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History Erases Our Heritage . The report is sharply critical of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, accusing it of portraying American history through a lens of "White supremacy, slavery, conquest, exclusion, hierarchy, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and systemic injustice." Notably, the report specifically defends the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act — the first U.S. law to bar immigration based explicitly on race — against the museum's characterization that the law was racially motivated, criticizing the exhibit's accompanying text for portraying restrictive immigration laws as "a tool of White supremacy." The report emerged from an executive order Trump signed earlier in his term, which had already led to a broader review of Smithsonian exhibitions and operations. According to NPR on July 9, 2026, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch defended the institution's integrity in a memo to staff, emphasizing a commitment to "scholarship, nonpartisanship, independence, accuracy and integrity" in telling the fullness of America's story. The response from Asian American advocates has been swift and critical. Eunice Kwon of the Asian American Research Center at UC Berkeley called the report "a step backwards," noting that Congress formally and unanimously expressed regret for the Chinese Exclusion Act through House and Senate resolutions passed unanimously in 2011 and 2012. Kwon said the administration's effort to recast the law "as an economic dispute" while erasing the racial hostility and violence Chinese immigrants actually faced "is dangerous for our communities." Why This Matters Together Both developments intersect at a pivotal moment for how Asian Pacific American history is told at the federal level: as the Commission works to build the case for a dedicated national museum grounded in authentic, full storytelling — including the difficult chapters — the administration's Smithsonian report suggests a starkly different vision for how federally supported institutions should present that same history. ICE Shootings Mount as Trump Undercuts Reported DHS Vehicle-Stop Pause According to multiple media reports including AP News , Forbes , New York Times , TIME , and Washington Post , three men have died during Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) encounters in just over a week — in Houston, Biddeford, Maine, and now Florida — even as President Donald Trump publicly contradicted reports that the agency had moved to suspend most vehicle stops, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s own account of events has shifted since. Separately, Minnesota prosecutors report a breakthrough in their long-stalled investigations into the January killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. What Happened This Month On July 7, an ICE officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo , a Mexican national who had lived in the U.S. for decades, as he drove his construction crew to a Houston job site. DHS said the officer opened fire after Salgado Araujo ignored commands and attempted to ram the officer with his vehicle, but at least two of the passengers in the van have disputed the federal agency's account through their attorney. Former Houston city councilmember Robert Gallegos said Salgado Araujo was "racially profiled" — a man who had raised three sons and run his own homebuilding business. Less than a week later, on July 13, an ICE agent shot and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero , a 25-year-old Colombian national, after officers tried to stop a vehicle he was driving in Biddeford, Maine. DHS said the officer, "fearing for public safety," fired after Durán Guerrero attempted to flee in the vehicle. But that account shifted from what Sen. Angus King 's office initially relayed: King said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin first told him the officer opened fire because the driver tried to "use his vehicle as a weapon" — a materially different justification than "attempted to flee." King also said Mullin told him officers were serving an arrest warrant, but not for Durán Guerrero himself. Advocacy groups say Durán Guerrero had a wife and young daughter and was authorized to work in the U.S. Neither shooting involved agents wearing body cameras, despite then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem 's February pledge to "rapidly" deploy body cameras nationwide — a rollout that, per DHS, has now reached only about half of ICE field offices. Then on July 14, a third man died during an immigration encounter: a 28-year-old was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer in Florida while fleeing immigration and other federal officers. A Washington Post analysis published July 15 found that at least 17 motorists have been shot during immigration operations since the administration's enforcement ramp-up began — a scale considerably larger than the small number of high-profile cases that have drawn national attention. Separately, John Sandweg , who served as acting ICE director during the Obama administration, estimated roughly 18 traffic-stop shootings during the crackdown to date — a similar, independently-arrived-at figure. Trump Contradicts the Vehicle-Stop Pause — DHS Then Falls in Line Following the Houston and Maine shootings, ICE reportedly moved to suspend most vehicle stops — a change confirmed on the record when Sen. King's office said DHS itself had told them ICE was suspending traffic stops. But President Trump publicly contradicted that plan just a day later. In a social media post on July 15, Trump said ICE agents are "doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done," and insisted the agency must keep conducting stops to remove people he says were let into the country under the previous administration: "We CANNOT give up one of ICE's most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!" Ending the practice, he wrote, would mean "playing right into the criminal's hands." Hours after Trump's post, DHS Secretary Mullin issued his own statement affirming that people in the country illegally would be "arrested and deported" — a response that, rather than clarifying the contradiction, appeared to align the department with Trump's position. As of this writing, it remains unclear whether ICE will formally reverse the suspension and resume most stops, or how the agency intends to reconcile Trump's public statement with the pause it reportedly ordered just a day earlier. Policing experts have long warned that shooting into moving vehicles is inherently dangerous and should almost always be avoided — a pattern critics say has repeated across these incidents, with officers confronting drivers and then citing the vehicle itself as the justification for using force. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said on July 14 she had urged Mullin "to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops," though she also cautioned on X that "it is important to remember that the work ICE does to protect our country goes far beyond immigration enforcement." Collins faces a competitive reelection race in Maine, where hundreds of protesters gathered at her office this week over the Durán Guerrero shooting. Separately, internal dissent has surfaced within ICE itself: senior officials have reportedly blamed Trump's demand for mass arrests for the wave of deadly shootings, with one official warning that officers "pushed to the breaking point" are being forced into fatal confrontations. The killings came days after Trump ordered an arrest surge that swept up more than 10,000 people in five days, with field leadership reportedly told the White House expected 2,000 detentions daily. ICE has said it faces growing resistance to home arrests, as advisers increasingly tell immigrants to stay inside unless agents produce a judicial warrant — a dynamic the agency says pushes officers toward other tactics, including vehicle stops. The Political Stakes The shootings arrive at a politically sensitive moment for the administration. Trump's approval rating on immigration recovered from 38% in February — in the wake of the Good and Pretti killings in Minneapolis — to 42% in June, according to Quinnipiac University polling, even as his overall approval sits at 38%. Immigration remains a relative strength for Trump compared to other issues, but the pattern of shootings has become a flashpoint in competitive races, including Collins's in Maine and several Democratic primaries where candidates are divided over how aggressively to respond. Minnesota Follow-Up: Evidence Turnover in the Good and Pretti Cases Separately, Minnesota prosecutors announced a long-sought breakthrough: the Trump administration turned over evidence long sought by state investigators, including previously withheld hard drives containing statements and body-camera video, as well as Good's badly damaged SUV. Lawyers for Good's family called the transfer "an important and meaningful step towards justice and accountability." Despite the handover, no criminal charges have been filed against the federal agents who shot and killed Good and Pretti. The two Customs and Border Protection officers who killed Pretti were placed on administrative leave shortly after the shooting, but no indictment or known disciplinary action has followed against them or against Jonathan Ross , the ICE agent who shot Good. What's Next Investigations remain ongoing in Houston, Biddeford, Florida, and the two Minneapolis cases, with state and federal authorities continuing to clash over jurisdiction and evidence access. Salgado Araujo's killing marked at least the 21st shooting by immigration agents since Trump's mass deportation campaign began in January 2025, according to the New York Times , as reported by Forbes — underscoring that these incidents form part of a broader, ongoing pattern rather than isolated events. Whether the vehicle-stop pause survives Trump's public pushback, and how DHS intends to reconcile its own reported suspension with the president's explicit demand to continue stops, remains unresolved. This continues to be a fast-developing story with a pattern of shifting federal accounts — DHS's description of the Maine shooting alone has changed at least twice, from "weaponized" to "attempted to flee," even as the administration now appears to be walking back the policy response to the shootings themselves. Readers should expect further developments as investigations proceed. News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2026/08/03 APA Justice Monthly Meeting 2026/08/05 C100: The Impact of AI on Asian American Careers in Technology 2026/08/07-09 AASF: Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium and Ceremony 2026/08/26 C100: An Advice and Networking Event (Technology)Visit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details. # # # 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 APA Justice website at www.apajusticetaskforce.org . We value your feedback. Please send your comments to contact@apajustice.org . Back View PDF July 16, 2026 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #340 C100/Paul Cheung; More on Student Visas; Birthright Citizenship; AI Checks on Trump; + #340 C100/Paul Cheung; More on Student Visas; Birthright Citizenship; AI Checks on Trump; + In This Issue #340 · Introduction of C100 President Paul Cheung · Social Media Checks on Student Visa Applications · A Fractured Future for Birthright Citizenship · What Five AI Models Say About President Trump’s Claims · News and Activities for the Communities Introduction of C100 President Paul Cheung At the APA Justice monthly meeting on July 7, 2025, Paul Cheung 鄭文耀 , the new President of the Committee of 100 (C100), offered introductory remarks outlining his professional background and vision for the organization. With over two decades of experience in journalism and philanthropy, Paul previously led digital innovation at the Associated Press and the Miami Herald , and later focused on technology-driven equity initiatives at the Knight Foundation. He emphasized that his career has been defined by building strategic partnerships and using technology to dismantle systemic barriers—whether in journalism, misinformation, or civil rights. Paul sees strong alignment between C100’s mission and that of APA Justice and other advocacy organizations. In his view, defending AAPI rights requires more than passion—it demands strategy, cross-sector collaboration, and coordinated action. Reflecting on his past work covering civil rights and leading foundation programs, he stressed that legal victories alone are not enough unless they are paired with cultural and public narrative change. For C100, that means not only amplifying partners’ work but also helping to shift the broader conversation about Chinese American identity and inclusion.Acknowledging the evolving U.S.–China relationship, Paul pointed out that geopolitical tensions between the two countries will likely persist, regardless of administration. These tensions have direct consequences for Chinese Americans and other immigrant communities. As a result, C100 is rethinking how it approaches its advocacy—not simply by sharing how policy changes impact Asian Americans, but by demonstrating how they affect all Americans. He called for renewed efforts to uplift Chinese American contributions to U.S. history—from birthright citizenship to building the transcontinental railroad—as essential to understanding what is at stake if these communities are sidelined.Looking ahead, Paul emphasized C100’s commitment to working collaboratively with partners to inform and shape policy change. He highlighted the State of Chinese Americans research as one example of a tool that can support broader coalition efforts. Paul welcomed opportunities to meet with APA Justice participants individually to learn about their work and explore synergies. He concluded by thanking APA Justice and its leadership for hosting the conversation and expressed enthusiasm about building deeper partnerships to advance shared goals of equity, inclusion, and constructive dialogue.A video of Paul's talk is posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sQHwSNRMfQ (3:30)A summary of the July 7 APA Justice monthly meeting is being prepared at this time. Social Media Checks on Student Visa Applications Author: Madeleine Gable, APA Justice Communications InternAccording to POLITICO , The Intercept , and other media sources, the State Department’s new student visa social media vetting process includes a list of 20 social media platforms. Applicants are asked to make their accounts public, a task that could prove difficult to accomplish as a quarter of platforms listed in the online application are now defunct.In late June, after a three-week suspension of student visa interviews, the State Department resumed processing with a stricter social media vetting protocol. The process applies to all foreign nationals who apply for F (academic students), M (vocational students), and J (exchange visitor) visa applicants, including applicants who have already been interviewed but have not been finally approved.The State Department directs consular officers to flag “applicants who demonstrate a history of political activism” and directs them to “consider the likelihood they would continue such activity in the United States.” It states that this screening will apply for both new and returning student visa applicants. Consular officers must take “detailed case notes” about their review of applicants’ online presences and “take screenshots to preserve the record against possible later alteration or loss of the information.”The online student visa application requires applicants to provide the usernames for “each social media platform you have used within the last five years” from a list of 20 services. However, many of the services listed have not been operational for years. Some of the listed, obsolete platforms include Vine, which closed in 2017; Google+, which stopped operating in 2019; and the dating site Twoo, which shut down in 2021. Since 2019, most visa applicants have been required to disclose their social media usernames. The Trump administration’s “expanded screening and vetting process” applies to F, M, and J visa applicants. Provided social media accounts will subsequently be checked for “any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.”Of the seven regional services listed, five are Chinese — Douban (豆瓣), Qzone (QQ空间), Sina Weibo (新浪微博), Tencent Weibo (腾讯微博), and Youku (优酷). Tencent Weibo, a microblogging service, shut down in 2020. The other two regional services are Ask.fm , a Latvian Q&A site, and VKontakte (VK), a Russian social networking, messaging, and entertainment app.Despite including five Chinese services, the list leaves out Tencent’s WeChat (腾讯微信), the most popular social media app in China. The list also does not include TikTok or Truth Social, President Trump’s own social media platform.According to Albert Fox Cahn , founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, “Now those who wanted to study in the U.S. to flee authoritarian governments abroad will have to make their social media public to those same governments to study here.” A Fractured Future for Birthright Citizenship Author: Madeleine Gable, APA Justice Communications InternOn June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled to allow President Donald Trump to continue to end the process of birthright citizenship in the U.S. Earlier this year, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) ending birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants and foreign visitors, but it was challenged and temporarily halted by lower courts. In their recent ruling, the Supreme Court did not address the constitutionality of President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, but it did limit the ability of individual judges in lower courts to block federal policies for the entire country. The Supreme Court is now the only court in the country that can block a presidential policy nationwide. Regarding the birthright citizenship executive order, the Supreme Court paused the order’s implementation for 30 days and returned pending lawsuits to lower courts to reassess the scope of relief. After the 30-day pause, the EO will take effect in the 28 states that have not challenged the measure.In response to the Supreme Court’s decision to limit nationwide injunctions, the Chinese American Citizens Alliance (CACA) issued a statement expressing “deep disappointment” that the ruling “significantly weakens the ability of civil rights organizations to protect communities from unconstitutional federal actions when swift nationwide relief is urgently needed.” CACA’s statement points out that advocates must now fight the same battle in multiple jurisdictions, delaying justice and sowing confusion nationwide. CACA urges Congress to restore the ability of lower courts to provide comprehensive relief and warns civil rights advocates to prepare for a more fractured legal landscape.Read the full CACA statement here . Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) issued a similar press release, asserting that the EO attempts to “unilaterally change the 14th Amendment” and threatens to “erode a foundational principle of American identity,” the constitutional promise of equality and inclusion. Such a measure will have serious consequences for all immigrant communities.Read the full APIAVote press release here .U.S. Senator Tim Kaine , a former civil rights attorney, released the following statement:“President Trump’s attempt to curtail birthright citizenship for those born in the U.S. is clearly unconstitutional. This is why every federal court until now had blocked the executive order from going into effect. But instead of making a straightforward determination on the constitutionality of the EO, the Supreme Court has colluded with the Trump Administration to curtail the Judiciary Branch’s own power to protect Americans from illegal actions by the Executive Branch, starting with undermining birthright citizenship. Now that Trump’s birthright citizenship order may go into effect in 30 days unless more lawsuits are filed, American hospitals and state and local governments will be in limbo about something as basic as issuing birth certificates. Parents of newborns will have to scramble to make sure that they have the paperwork to show their citizenship or immigration status, even as they prepare to welcome a baby into their families. Once again with this Administration, it’s nothing but uncertainty and fear.”Read Senator Tim Kaine's statement here . Chair Grace Meng of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) issued the following statement:“I am appalled by the Supreme Court’s decision to let the Trump administration push forward with its unconstitutional attempt to eliminate birthright citizenship. This reckless ruling opens the door to a future where states can decide who is an American citizen. The 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil—a principle upheld by this very Court over a century ago. Instead of ruling on the merits of this case, the Court has chosen to undermine judges’ abilities to block the administration’s unlawful actions that will only lead to more chaos and division. While legal battles remain, CAPAC will continue to defend the Constitution and the bedrock principles that have allowed generations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to call this country home. We will fight this executive order in every courtroom, in every state, across the country.”The American Immigration Council pointed out that after the 30-day pause, enforcement could vary widely by state or circuit, depending on how lower courts proceed. This raises the possibility of a patchwork legal system, where a child born to undocumented or immigrant parents might be a citizen in one state but not another. For example, a baby born to undocumented or immigrant parents in California or Maryland might still be issued a U.S. birth certificate and recognized as a citizen (because of ongoing litigation there). But possibly, a baby born the same day in Texas or Florida might not be recognized as a U.S. citizen — depending on how lower federal courts deal with the existing lawsuits and whether new lawsuits are filed. What Five AI Models Say About President Trump’s Claims On July 1, 2025, the Washington Post published an opinion by a team of senior scholars and researchers from the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, led by Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld . The team asked five leading AI systems—ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity—to evaluate 20 regularly repeated claims made by President Donald Trump . All five models debunked 15 of the statements outright, and partially rejected most of the remaining ones. "Artificial intelligence discredited all the Trump claims we presented, fact-checking the president with startling accuracy and objective rigor," the opionion stated.For example, Trump’s assertions about tariffs—such as them not causing consumer price increases—were widely contradicted. ChatGPT noted that proposed tariffs "would likely raise consumer prices," while Grok estimated a 1–2.3% price increase per household. Similarly, his claim about the media being “dishonest” was challenged: Perplexity clarified that while there are errors, the U.S. media in general cannot be deemed “dishonest.” Another key contrast came with his statements on the Capitol riot and the 2020 election. ChatGPT asserted that celebrating the rioters "ignores the facts" and undermines democratic norms, while Gemini confirmed there was “no credible evidence” supporting claims of a stolen election The opinion emphasizes a stark dichotomy: either Trump’s claims are false, or the AI is deeply flawed. The models showed consistency and accuracy in their responses, offering a compelling challenge to his narrative—inviting readers to reflect on whether the problem lies with the politician or the technology. These 14 questions were identified in the opinion: Will Trump’s current tariff policies be inflationary? Is the U.S. being taken advantage of on trade by its international partners? Are Trump’s cryptocurrency investments a conflict of interest? Has the Department of Government Efficiency actually “found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud”? Is Harvard more antisemitic than other universities? Is Trump right that the media is “dishonest” or “tells lies”? Did the “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris that aired in October distort the truth and damage Trump’s candidacy? Was the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 President Joe Biden’s fault? Was the American economy the worst in its history under the Biden presidency? Was the Biden administration responsible for higher levels of inflation following the covid-19 pandemic and through 2024? Did 21 million illegal immigrants enter the United States [during the Biden administration]? And were many of them murderers, human traffickers, gang members, or other sorts of serious criminals? Were the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters who stormed the capitol “patriots” or “heroes”? Was the 2020 presidential election stolen from Trump? Is Trump the most dishonest president in U.S. history? Read the Washington Post opinion: https://bit.ly/44txfn3 News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2025/07/09 8th Annual Congressional Reception2025/07/10 C100 Conversations – “Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes” with David Ho2025/07/10 ACLU's Civil Rights in the Digital Age AI Summit2025/07/13 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2025/07/25-27 Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium and Ceremony 2025/07/27 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2025/07/29 C100 Conversations – “Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes” with Linda Chao Yang2025/08/02-07 2025 Joint Statistical Meetings2025/08/04 APA Justice Monthly MeetingVisit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details. 2. Committee of 100 Conversations - "Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes" WHAT: Committee of 100 Conversations – “Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes” with David Ho WHEN: July 10, 2025, 6:00 pm ET WHERE: Webinar HOST: Committee of 100 Speaker : Dr. David Ho, Founding Scientific Director, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center Moderator : Peter Young, CEO and President of Young & Partners; Committee of 100 New York Regional Chair and Board Member DESCRIPTION: Dr. David Ho, pioneering AIDS research scientist, is a Professor of Medicine at Columbia University and the Founding Scientific Director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, whose elegant studies unraveled the dynamic nature of HIV replication in vivo and revolutionized our basic understanding of this horrific disease. This knowledge led him to champion combination antiretroviral therapy, which resulted in unprecedented control of HIV in patients. He will cover highlights and turning points in his career, his view of the factors that led to the innovations he pioneered, and the joys and challenges of scientific research in this country. He has received many awards, including Time Magazine Man of the Year. REGISTRATION : https://www.committee100.org/conversations-david-ho/ WHAT: Committee of 100 Conversations – “Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes” with Linda Tsao Yang WHEN: July 29, 2025, 6:00 pm ET WHERE: Webinar HOST: Committee of 100 Speaker : Linda Tsao Yang, Former U.S. Ambassador and first woman Executive Director appointed to Asian Development Bank Moderator : Calvin Tsao, Architect Principal at Tsao & McKown Architects and Committee of 100 Member DESCRIPTION: Linda Tsao Yang is a pioneer in the oversight of important financial institutions and the first woman and the first minority to represent the United States on the board of a multilateral financial institution. She served as U.S. Executive Director to the board of the Asian Development Bank in Manila, is Chair Emerita of the Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA), was the first minority appointed to serve as California’s Savings and Loan Commissioner; and was also the first minority appointed to the board of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension fund in the United States.Throughout her career she has directed and driven the institutions she has chaired towards policies and practices that were more equitable and enduring, guided by good governance, transparent information disclosure, improved rules on participation and consultation, a robust policies on gender—all at a time when women were virtually absent from senior leadership, let alone executive directorships or boardrooms. REGISTRATION : https://www.committee100.org/conversations-linda-tsao-yang/ 3. AAAS Tracks Federal R&D Workforce On July 8, 2025, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) launched a tracker on the Full-Time Equivalents (FTE) of federal research and development (R&D) workers. The metric adds up full-time, part-time, and other work types to represent a standard 40-hour work week employee. The dashboard compiles the annually reported FTEs for key R&D intensive agencies and programs across the federal government. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3Ijajht . # # # 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 . Back View PDF July 9, 2025 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #110 01/30 Webinar on Gang Chen; 2/7 Monthly Meeting; Franklin Tao; Stop Anti-Asian Hate #110 01/30 Webinar on Gang Chen; 2/7 Monthly Meeting; Franklin Tao; Stop Anti-Asian Hate Back View PDF January 31, 2022 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter