Wrongly Prosecuted Chinese American Scientist Moves Forward 
with New Complaint Against Commerce Department

Sherry Chen, a Chinese American hydrologist, was wrongfully accused of spying for China in a seven-year-old case. The case has upended her life. 

“Chen filed an administrative complaint against the Departments of Commerce and Justice stemming from abuses by the Commerce Department’s internal security unit. This unit, known as the Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS), unlawfully investigated and arrested Ms. Chen as part of a broad pattern of discrimination directed at Chinese Americans. “The government’s investigation and prosecution of me was discriminatory and unjustified,” said Sherry Chen. “The Commerce Department should be held accountable for the conduct of its illegal security unit, which has had a devastating impact on my life and the lives of so many other federal employees.”The complaint describes how the unlawful investigation and prosecution of Ms. Chen is part of a broader pattern of government discrimination against Chinese American scientists. This discrimination is also at the heart of the so-called 'China Initiative,’ which was launched by the Trump administration and continues to this day under the Biden administration.” 

Reporting by the ACLU. Read more about Sherry Chen’s story here

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