USA TODAY International Edition
FBI’s anti- Asian bias ruined my father
Address government’s role in hate in America
In response to horrific attacks against Asian Americans, the Biden administration has announced a new initiative to combat anti- Asian violence, xenophobia and bias. Days later, a federal court denied my family recourse for the anti- Asian violence and xenophobia the Obama- Biden administration subjected us to several years ago, when the Justice Department and FBI falsely accused my father of sending sensitive technology to China and treated him as a Chinese spy.
The same federal government that recently expressed sympathy for Asian Americans has long perpetuated harm against our communities, and continues to do so. Truly combating anti- Asian racism will require addressing the government’s role in it.
In 2015, the FBI raided my family’s home one morning, woke us up at gunpoint and dragged my dad, Xiaoxing Xi, away in handcuffs in front of my mom, sister and me. We were confused and terrified. Later, we found out that the Justice Department was accusing my father of illegally sending sensitive technology to China. They threatened him with 80 years in prison and $ 1 million in fines.
After the Justice Department publicized its charges against my father, newscasters surrounded our home and tried to film through windows to get a glimpse of our family. The FBI rummaged through all our belongings and carried off electronics and documents containing many private details of our lives. For months, we lived in fear of FBI intimidation and surveillance. We worried about our safety in public, given that my dad’s face was plastered all over the news. My dad was unable to work, and his reputation was shattered.
Justice dropped charges
The accusations were entirely false, and based on emails about academic collaboration between my dad and his colleagues that had nothing to do with the technology the government claimed. Eventually, the Justice Department dropped the case, but not before leaving us traumatized and saddled with enormous legal fees.
My dad, an American physics professor, does not even work on sensitive research. Yet prosecutors recklessly charged him with crimes based on his Chinese heritage. Without legitimate evidence, the government deployed its powerful national security apparatus against us, including intrusive and secretive surveillance. We pursued a civil rights lawsuit to seek some semblance of justice, but now our legal claims for damages have been dismissed.
The unjust prosecution of my father was one of several targeting Chinese American scientists. People like Wen Ho Lee and Sherry Chen, among others, have been painted as spies and had their lives turned upside down, only to have their cases dropped by the government.
Under Donald Trump, FBI Director Christopher Wray doubled down, casting students and researchers of Chinese descent as potential spies and stating that the FBI views China “not just a whole- of- government threat but a whole- of- society threat,” requiring a “whole- of- society response.” The Justice Department launched the China Initiative in 2018 to target these supposed spies. The Biden administration has continued this initiative, despite civil rights groups’ calls to end it.
National, human security
While there are legitimate concerns regarding the Chinese government, there is a major human cost to casting suspicion on entire communities based on national origin. The FBI’s record of racial, ethnic and religious profiling has left a devastating trail, including in Muslim, Black and Indigenous communities. As anti- Asian — particularly anti- China — sentiment and bias grow, I fear the U. S. government will cause many more people to experience what my family did, especially if there is no opportunity to challenge the government’s wrongdoing in court.
Asian communities in America have long been viewed as perpetual foreigners and national security threats, dating to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Immigration Act of 1917, which barred people from the Asia- Pacific region from immigrating to the United States for decades. During World War II, the government incarcerated 120,000 Japanese Americans in the name of national security. After 9/ 11, law enforcement vastly expanded its surveillance, harassment and criminalization of Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities. And when COVID- 19 hit, Trump resorted to blatant racism, calling it the “China virus” and “kung flu.”
The recent anti- Asian attacks have various causes, but with the government’s own xenophobic actions and rhetoric, it is no surprise these assaults have been widespread.
Like many, I worry for myself, friends and family amid these hyper- visible attacks. To meaningfully address antiAsian violence, the U. S. government must end its own racist policies and account for past wrongdoing. And my family will be appealing the court’s dismissal of our claims. We will continue to fight to end racialized targeting of our communities.
Joyce Xi is the daughter of Xiaoxing Xi, a scientist who was wrongfully prosecuted by the U. S. government.