The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C., DC 20500 [VIA EMAIL] April 9th, 2021 Dear President Biden, I am writing to deliver a petition, attached to this letter, signed by 29,318 people urging you to put an end to the racial profiling of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants and end the Justice Department’s “China Initiative.” Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC worked with directly impacted persons, who were inspired to take action but chose to remain anonymous due to fear, to launch this petition urging you to immediately end the “China Initiative” and the federal government’s racial profiling and targeting of Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists, researchers, and scholars, particularly by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). We thank you for your public condemnation of racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States and look forward to the administration's efforts to combat profiling within our federal institutions. Along with almost 30,000 impacted persons, concerned citizens, and community members, we seek to draw your attention to the increasing targeting and racial profiling of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants, particularly those of Chinese descent, who are working in science and technology. Asian Americans and immigrants across the country face not only the deathly impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and devastating attacks of hate on their most vulnerable, but are also being scapegoated and targeted by law enforcement and the federal government. This fear is only heightened by racist policies and xenophobic rhetoric from public officials fueling this resurgent xenophobia. Under great pressure by former President Donald Trump, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions launched the “China Initiative” in November 2018 to allegedly combat economic espionage for the Chinese government. While the prosecutions of Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists did not begin with the prior administration’s “China Initiative,” the White House mandate increased pressure on federal agencies such as the DOJ, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and NIH to scrutinize Asian Americans and Asian immigrants based on their ethnicity. 1140 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Ste. 1200, Washington, DC 20036 T 202-296-2300 F 202-296-2318 www.advancingjustice-aajc.org The FBI and the NIH have injected racial bias into our academic institutions encouraging staff to treat Asian American and immigrant scientists and researchers as suspects. The FBI has conducted threat awareness sessions and circulated information on the threat of so-called non- traditional collectors.1 NIH has sent letters to over 10,000 institutions in regards to the threat of intellectual property theft, and conducted investigations that have led to the dismissals, resignations, and terminations of Asian American scientists.2 NIH’s head of extramural research has stated that 82% of those under investigation are Asian American.3 As a result, Asian Americans and immigrants are in fear of being subjected to discriminatory investigations in academic institutions across the country. Despite the DOJ’s allegations that the “China Initiative” aims to combat economic espionage, the reality is that federal prosecutors are charging many Asian Americans and Asian immigrants with federal crimes based on administrative errors or minor offenses. These were previously handled by universities as part of the administrative process but are now being criminalized, resulting in ruined careers and lives in shambles. The DOJ’s own press release shows that only about a quarter of the cases under the initiative are for economic espionage as of November 12, 2020.4 Even after finding no evidence of espionage, federal prosecutors are charging many Asian Americans and Asian immigrants with federal crimes based on administrative errors or minor offenses and other activities (e.g., failing to disclose information to universities/research institutions) under the pretext of combating economic espionage. The ongoing targeting and profiling of Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists follow a long history of criminalizing immigrants and treating Asian Americans as “perpetual foreigners.” This racism has manifested itself at many points in our history including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII, and the scapegoating and targeting of Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities post-9/11. Asian 1 FBI Director Christopher Wray’s Opening Remarks: China Initiative Conference, CIS (Feb. 6, 2020), https://www.csis.org/analysis/fbi-director-christopher-wrays-opening-remarks-china-initiative-conference (According to FBI Director, the FBI now has “private-sector coordinators in each of the FBI’s 56 field offices who lead [their] engagement with local businesses and universities.” “[They] meet with these partners frequently, providing threat awareness briefings…”); see also Ana Swanson, A New Red Scare Is Reshaping Washington, N.Y. Times (July 20, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/20/us/politics/china-red-scare-washington.html (“Officials from the F.B.I and the National Security Council have been dispatched to Ivy League universities to warn administrators to be vigilant against Chinese students who may be gathering technological secrets from their laboratories to pass to Beijing.”). 2 Chia-Yi Hou, Three Researchers Ousted from MD Anderson, THE SCIENTIST (Apr. 22, 2019) https://www.the- scientist.com/news-opinion/three-researchers-ousted-from-md-anderson-65772. 3 Jeffrey Mervis, Fifty-four Scientists Have Lost Their Jobs as a Result of NIH Probe into Foreign Ties, SCI. MAG. (June 12, 2020), https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/fifty-four-scientists-have-lost-their-jobs-result-nihprobe-foreign-ties. 4 See Information About the Department of Justice’s China Initiative and a Compilation of China-Related Prosecutions Since 2018, U.S. DEP’T OF JUSTICE (Nov. 12, 2020), https://www.justice.gov/opa/information- about-department-justice-s-china-initiative-and-compilation-china-related. 1620 L Street NW, Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20036 T 202-296-2300 F 202-296-2318 www.advancingjustice-aajc.org American and immigrant communities have been repeatedly scapegoated and targeted based on their race, ethnicity, or ancestry. In response to increasing concerns from our communities, we launch this petition to stop the criminalization of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants in this country and recreate an inclusive, welcoming environment that embraces diversity. You can view each petition signer and the comments they left you below. If you have any questions, please contact Megan Essaheb at messaheb@advancingjustice- aajc.org and Gisela Kusakawa at [email protected]. Thank you, Megan Essaheb Director of Immigration Advocacy Gisela Perez Kusakawa NAPABA Law Foundation Community Law Fellow Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC 1620 L Street, NW, Suite 1050 Washington, D.C. 20036 Telephone: (202) 815-1098 1620 L Street NW, Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20036 T 202-296-2300 F 202-296-2318 www.advancingjustice-aajc.org Dear President Biden, 29318 people have signed a petition urging you to put an end to the racial profiling of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants and end the Justice Department’s “China Initiative.” Here is the petition they signed: We urge you to immediately end the federal government’s racial profiling and targeting of Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists, researchers, and scholars, particularly by the Department of Justice, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and National Science Foundation (NSF). We also ask for an end to the “China Initiative” and a review of all prosecutions and investigations under the “China Initiative” for evidence of racial profiling. Furthermore, we request that the administration directs federal grantmaking agencies, including the NIH, to stop using race, ethnicity, or ancestry as a basis to investigate Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists and provide redress to people who lost their funding or had their funding withheld due to discriminatory allegations. Universities and government grantmaking agencies should provide clear guidelines and instructions regarding grant application requirements, disclosures and conflicts of interest, as well as give scientists and researchers ample time to correct their forms without disproportionate consequences. The mass profiling of Asian Americans not only harms the lives of individuals, families, and communities, but erodes the health of our democracy. You can view each petition signer and the comments they left you below. Thank you, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC 1. An anonymous signer (ZIP code: ) 2. Gail Corey (ZIP code: 11735) 3. Katarzyna Schodzi_ska (ZIP code: 20-810) 4. Allison Erickson (ZIP code: 46142) 5. Evelin Silva (ZIP code: 18991908334) 6. Kimberly Ortiz (ZIP code: 90241) 7. gisca Syafitri (ZIP code: 17282) 8. nicole sujey (ZIP code: 503) 9. Will Greaney (ZIP code: 60491) 10. Natalia Ramírez (ZIP code: 28017) 11. Tuva Gabrielsson (ZIP code: Gabrielsson1) 12. Ayleen Moya (ZIP code: 60625) 13. arifa miah (ZIP code: 112) 14. Kayli Bowins (ZIP code: 21702) 15. Eli G (ZIP code: 91945) 16. Izabella H (ZIP code: 90710) 17. tiana tavares (ZIP code: 02302) 18. sara tariq (ZIP code: m168hy) 19. Sofía Banderas (ZIP code: 35000) 20. Ur Mom (ZIP code: 51773) 21. Britany Vargas