Rep. Chu Calls on Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation to Examine Ethnic Profiling Guidelines
Washington, DC - Today, Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) called upon the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate a pattern of cases in which U.S. citizens of Asian descent have been wrongfully arrested or charged with alleged espionage.
On Friday, the Department of Justice dropped all charges against Dr. Xi Xiaoxing of Temple University, but not before storming his house with guns drawn, arresting him as he was taken away from his family in handcuffs, accusing him of being a spy for China, and causing humiliation when his title of Chair of the Physics Department was taken away.
Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) released the following statement:
“As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), I am deeply troubled by what appears to be a growing pattern of Chinese American employees being targeted and charged of spying and economic espionage, only to have those charges later dropped.
“Just last week, the Department of Justice dropped all of its charges against Temple University professor Xi Xiaoxing, who was accused of sharing sensitive U.S. technology with China. This comes just months after charges were dropped against another Chinese American, Sherry Chen, who had also been accused of spying for China. These incidents are eerily reminiscent of the case of Chinese American scientist Wen Ho Lee, who was charged with 59 counts of espionage, fired from his job, taken to jail, and held in solitary confinement only to have 58 of the charges later dropped.
“This practice breeds suspicion of Chinese Americans, and begs the question of whether federal prosecutors are indicting innocent Americans based on race or ethnicity rather than concrete evidence. I call upon the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to reexamine their practices. We have asked Attorney General Loretta Lynch to meet with CAPAC immediately to address our concerns.”