Asian Americans Advancing Justice condemns anti-Chinese statements and join demand for meeting with FBI Director

Washington, DC — March 1, 2018 — On February 13, 2018, during a U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, FBI director Christopher Wray made broad allegations that “professors, scientists, and students” of Chinese heritage in the United States are a threat to U.S. economic and national security.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, releases the following statement:

“As civil rights organizations rooted in fighting discrimination against Asians in the United States, we find FBI Director Christopher Wray’s recent comments reprehensible. In one broad stroke, his unsubstantiated statements play into a racist history in the U.S. of framing Asians (particularly Chinese) as “perpetual foreigners,” the “yellow peril,” and — in the case of Muslim Americans — terrorist threats.  Such irresponsible comments result in the racial profiling of Chinese and Chinese American students, professors, and researchers.  It also fans the flames of xenophobia against all Asian Americans.

We join other Chinese and Asian American civil rights groups in demanding a meeting to address our concerns – ourjoint letter was sent today to FBI Director Wray.

We cannot have every Chinese student or scientist assumed guilty until proven innocent of a national security threat. We will continue to vigilantly challenge the FBI and any other agencies that profile and target our communities in such a broad and unconstitutional way.”