AASF to AP, NPR: Proposal to Reinstate China Initiative Heightens “Chilling Effect” Among Asian American Scholars

As the new year begins and civil rights groups prepare for Congress to return, Asian American scholars and allies are at the ready to keep pushing back against some policymakers’ attempts to reinstate the DOJ’s now-defunct “China Initiative”—a devastating program ended nearly two years ago that raised concerns of racial profiling and targeting of Asian Americans and immigrants, particularly of Chinese descent. 

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Nearly 50 Organizations Oppose Appropriations Proposal to Reinstate the China Initiative

45 organizations led by the Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) and a coalition of Asian American and allied partners who worked to end the Department of Justice’s “China Initiative” sent a letter to Congress today to oppose legislative language that would reinstate the “China Initiative” in the House version of the FY 2024 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations bill (H.R. 5893) and any future iterations of the Initiative. The proposal would reverse the decision to end the “China Initiative”—a devastating program ended last year that raised serious concerns of racial profiling and targeting of Asian Americans and immigrants, particularly of Chinese descent.

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Coalition Letter to Congress in Opposition of Appropriations Proposal to Reinstate the China Initiative

Coalition letter led and supported by Asian American coalition members that united to end the first iteration of the DOJ’s “China Initiative,” which includes Asian American Scholar Forum, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, CAA/Stop AAPI Hate, Asian American Federal Employees for Nondiscrimination, Committee of 100, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, Brennan Center for Justice, APA Justice, ACLU, and other key civil rights organizations.

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AASF Leadership Proudly Announces Release of 2022-23 Impact Report

The Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) is pleased to announce the release of our 2022-23 Impact Report, which highlights our many accomplishments, new endeavors, and critical partnerships that have quickly established us as a widely-respected national non-profit organization and helped us secure our “seat at the table.” 

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Fact Sheet: The Impact of Section 702 on Asian Americans

Asian Americans Against Warrantless Surveillance is a coalition led by Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, Asian American Scholar Forum, Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), and Stop AAPI Hate. The coalition joins over 50 Asian American and allied organizations to call on Congress to oppose the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without comprehensive reforms.

We recognize the grave dangers posed by unchecked national security programs in the United States and the persistent legacy of discrimination that the Asian American and Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities have endured due to racial profiling and prejudice in the name of national security.

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