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FBI asks scientists for trust in taking anti-Asian bias seriously
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01704-2(more links at source)
NEWS
07 June 2024
FBI asks scientists for trust in taking anti-Asian bias seriously
At public forum, US investigators seek to repair damage from China Initiative with researchers of Asian descent.
By Neil Savage
In a rare meeting between the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the academic community on Thursday, members of the FBI sought to reassure researchers of Asian descent that their concerns over discrimination are being heard. The 6 June public forum [see Youtube video, below], held at Rice University in Houston, Texas, was lauded by participants as an important step in building trust, though several said much more work remains to be done.
“We want you to feel comfortable. That’s why we’re here,” said Douglas Williams, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Houston field office, which, among other things, investigates hate crimes based on ethnicity. “More importantly, we want you to trust us, so that when something does happen in this community, which I believe it does, that you feel comfortable calling us and that we can investigate it.”
The two-hour session, sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Justice Task Force and others, was organized in response to fears among students and professors of Asian descent, which have flared in the United States in recent years. One reason for the concerns is the China Initiative, a programme launched in 2018 by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) under Donald Trump’s administration. The initiative aimed to curb the theft of US scientific research by the Chinese government, and saw a number of scientists of Chinese descent arrested by the FBI and swept into criminal court. Most were eventually acquitted or had their cases dropped. The DoJ discontinued the initiative in 2022, acknowledging that cases against the researchers triggered a perception of racial bias.
But scrutiny of Chinese-born scholars by the US government seems to have continued. In April, the Chinese embassy of the United States said that since July 2021, at least 70 foreign students with valid documents have been turned away at US airports and forced to fly to China. David Donatti, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas, a non-profit organization, said at the forum that those students, including fifth-year PhD students working in the United States and ready to defend their dissertations, were interrogated and deported without explanation. Many face five-year bans on entry to the country.
[...]
07 June 2024
FBI asks scientists for trust in taking anti-Asian bias seriously
At public forum, US investigators seek to repair damage from China Initiative with researchers of Asian descent.
By Neil Savage
In a rare meeting between the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the academic community on Thursday, members of the FBI sought to reassure researchers of Asian descent that their concerns over discrimination are being heard. The 6 June public forum [see Youtube video, below], held at Rice University in Houston, Texas, was lauded by participants as an important step in building trust, though several said much more work remains to be done.
“We want you to feel comfortable. That’s why we’re here,” said Douglas Williams, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Houston field office, which, among other things, investigates hate crimes based on ethnicity. “More importantly, we want you to trust us, so that when something does happen in this community, which I believe it does, that you feel comfortable calling us and that we can investigate it.”
The two-hour session, sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Justice Task Force and others, was organized in response to fears among students and professors of Asian descent, which have flared in the United States in recent years. One reason for the concerns is the China Initiative, a programme launched in 2018 by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) under Donald Trump’s administration. The initiative aimed to curb the theft of US scientific research by the Chinese government, and saw a number of scientists of Chinese descent arrested by the FBI and swept into criminal court. Most were eventually acquitted or had their cases dropped. The DoJ discontinued the initiative in 2022, acknowledging that cases against the researchers triggered a perception of racial bias.
But scrutiny of Chinese-born scholars by the US government seems to have continued. In April, the Chinese embassy of the United States said that since July 2021, at least 70 foreign students with valid documents have been turned away at US airports and forced to fly to China. David Donatti, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas, a non-profit organization, said at the forum that those students, including fifth-year PhD students working in the United States and ready to defend their dissertations, were interrogated and deported without explanation. Many face five-year bans on entry to the country.
[...]
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A DIALOGUE BETWEEN ACADEMIC AND ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES AND THE FBI
APA Justice
Jun 6 2024
A DIALOGUE BETWEEN ACADEMIC AND ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES AND THE FBI
June 6, 2024, 4-6 pm Central Time
O’Connor building, suite 510, Rice University, Houston, TX
Opening Welcome
• Sergio Lira, Vice President, Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition (TMAC) and President, Houston Council, League of United Latin American Citizen (LULAC)
• Paul Cherukuri, Chief Innovation Officer, Vice President for Innovation, Rice University
Moderator
• Steven Pei, Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition and APA Justice Task Force
FBI Panelists
• Jill Murphy, Deputy Assistant Director for Counterintelligence, FBI Headquarters
• Georgette "GiGi" Pickering, Assistant Special Agent in Charge,
FBI Houston Field Office
• Kelly Choi, Supervisory Special Agent, FBI Houston Field Office
Community Panelists
• Gordon Quan, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Quan Law Group, PLLC. Former Houston City Mayor Pro-Tem
• David Donatti, Senior staff attorney, Legal department, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas
• Gisela P. Kusakawa, Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum
Summary Remarks
• Alamdar S. Hamdani, U.S. Attorney for Southern District of Texas
• Douglas A. Williams, Jr, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Houston Field Office
• Neal F. Lane, Senior Fellow in Science and Technology Policy, Baker Institute for Public Policy. Former OSTP Director, The White House
Organizers
• Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition
• Science and Technology Policy Program, Baker Institute for Public • Policy
• Office of Innovation, Rice University
APA Justice Task Force
APA Justice
Jun 6 2024
A DIALOGUE BETWEEN ACADEMIC AND ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES AND THE FBI
June 6, 2024, 4-6 pm Central Time
O’Connor building, suite 510, Rice University, Houston, TX
Opening Welcome
• Sergio Lira, Vice President, Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition (TMAC) and President, Houston Council, League of United Latin American Citizen (LULAC)
• Paul Cherukuri, Chief Innovation Officer, Vice President for Innovation, Rice University
Moderator
• Steven Pei, Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition and APA Justice Task Force
FBI Panelists
• Jill Murphy, Deputy Assistant Director for Counterintelligence, FBI Headquarters
• Georgette "GiGi" Pickering, Assistant Special Agent in Charge,
FBI Houston Field Office
• Kelly Choi, Supervisory Special Agent, FBI Houston Field Office
Community Panelists
• Gordon Quan, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Quan Law Group, PLLC. Former Houston City Mayor Pro-Tem
• David Donatti, Senior staff attorney, Legal department, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas
• Gisela P. Kusakawa, Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum
Summary Remarks
• Alamdar S. Hamdani, U.S. Attorney for Southern District of Texas
• Douglas A. Williams, Jr, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Houston Field Office
• Neal F. Lane, Senior Fellow in Science and Technology Policy, Baker Institute for Public Policy. Former OSTP Director, The White House
Organizers
• Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition
• Science and Technology Policy Program, Baker Institute for Public • Policy
• Office of Innovation, Rice University
APA Justice Task Force