In The News: AABANY’S Karen King Co-Authors New York Law Journal Article in DOJ’s China Initiative

On November 8, 2021, the New York Law Journal published an article co-authored by Pro Bono & Community Service Committee Co-Chair Karen King, together with fellow Morvillo Abramowitz Partner Telemachus Kasulis. The article is entitled “DOJ’s China Initiative’s Three-Year Anniversary: Growing Pains and Uncertainty.” 

The article discussess how the Department of Justice’s “China Initiative” encourages discrimination and racial profiling against Asian Americans. The China initiative was started three years ago to combat economic and national security threats from the Chinese government. The article reveals how in reality only a small portion of cases involved actual charges of economic espionage or conspiracy. In one instance, a Chinese Canadian engineering professor, Anming Hu, was wrongly prosecuted for being a Chinese spy and was acquitted of all charges this past September. 

The authors note a parallel of the China Initiative to other discriminatory acts: “Critics continue to liken the China Initiative to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, McCarthyism, and racial profiling against Muslims in the wake of the September 11th attacks.” 

The article relates that the Biden administration has only made five new cases public. The authors note that the Biden administration appears to be stepping away from non-disclosure cases in which ties to the Chinese government appear weak. 

To read the full article, click on the following link: 

https://files.constantcontact.com/d6baf1e7801/f2add8b0-8343-4378-956c-6826d2ca9289.pdf

In Our Own Words: Narratives of South Asian New Yorkers Affected by Racial and Religious Profiling

March 22, 2012 6:30PM – 8:30PM | 42 Broadway, 20th Floor | New York, NY 10004

Since September 11th, policies and practices instituted in the name of national security have violated civil rights of South Asian, Muslim, and Sikh community members. Whether it is the NYPD’s monitoring of Muslim communities, airport officials subjecting Sikh and Muslim travelers to additional security screenings, or immigration enforcement programs targeting our community, the lives of everyday South Asian New Yorkers have been profoundly altered.

Join us on March 22 for a community briefing to mark the release of the upcoming report In Our Own Words: Narratives of South Asian New Yorkers Affected by Racial and Religious Profiling. Through surveys, focus groups, and interviews with over 600 South Asian community members in Brooklyn and Queens, the report reveals how profiling has affected individuals’ personal lives and the community’s collective identity.The report is the result of a joint documentation project by seven New York-based and national organizations: Coney Island Avenue Project; Council of Peoples Organization; DRUM – Desis Rising Up and Moving; The Sikh Coalition; South Asian Americans Leading Together; South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!); and UNITED SIKHS.

The community briefing will feature community members sharing their personal experiences and advocates providing recommendations to address profiling.  

Light refreshments will be served

To attend, please RSVP to [email protected] with “Profiling Briefing” in the subject line by no later than March 19

Attendees must RSVP due to security protocol at the venue.