April 18, 2024
NATIONWIDE (April 18, 2024) — Stop AAPI Hate issued the statement below in response to the forthcoming U.S. Senate vote on the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), following its passage in the House of Representatives earlier this week. This legislation reauthorizes Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (also known as Section 702) and significantly expands the right of federal agencies to conduct warrantless surveillance on U.S. citizens.
In a joint letter to Congress published last fall, Stop AAPI Hate and 90+ other racial justice and civil rights organizations condemned the federal government for conducting unlawful surveillance on communities of color, political activists, and other citizens under Section 702.
This quote can be attributed to Cynthia Choi, Co-Founder of Stop AAPI Hate and Co-Executive Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action:
“We are deeply disappointed by the reauthorization of Section 702 and the House passage of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA). This bill not only falls short of enacting meaningful reform but also expands the government’s surveillance capabilities without essential warrant requirements, further endangering the civil liberties and constitutional privacy rights of everyday Americans. For communities of color nationwide, this represents a direct assault on the principles of fairness, equality, and democracy our nation strives to uphold. For Asian and AMEMSA communities in the U.S.—who already disproportionately face warrantless surveillance and discrimination—the consequences of RISAA are particularly severe.
“We are also doubly concerned about the bill’s ‘Make Everyone A Spy’ provision, which grants the federal government the authority to compel any individual American to conduct surveillance if they have access to facilities or equipment that houses communications data — including even delivery workers, contracted cleaners, and utilities providers. This outrageously overreaching measure puts Asian Americans at heightened risk of being spied on by their fellow citizens, exacerbating a climate of fear and mistrust amidst the ongoing scourge of racism and discrimination targeting Asian and other communities of color in the U.S.
Stop AAPI Hate urgently calls on the Senate to decisively reject RISAA and any new measures that would conscript Americans in warrantless surveillance. Instead, lawmakers must move forward with genuine, meaningful reform that protects the privacy and civil liberties of all Americans.”