Asian Americans and the Law

When I was reading "My Country Versus Me" by Wen Ho Lee I was reminded of the long and painful history of racial profiling against Asian Americans, specifically in the context of the American legal system. Wen Ho Lee's story is reminiscent of so many other cases involving Asian American discrimination. I am reminded of the infamous 1944 case of Korematsu vs. The United States, in which the court supported and validated the internment of Americans of Japanese decent. I am also reminded of the 1886 Supreme Court Case of Yick Wo vs. Hopkins, in which the application of a California state ordinance was applied in a discriminatory manner against Chinese Laundry business owners. The case of Wen Ho Lee is similar to these cases in that the court, despite the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment which asserts that "no state may deny any person equal protection of the laws", deliberately denied these basic rights to Wen Ho Lee and discriminated against him because of his Asian decent. This is obvious because he was singled out, as evidenced by his similarly situated non-Asian colleagues who were not prosecuted or even investigated. This type of racial profiling has as long presence in the history of the legal system, and it is extremely pertinent even today, especially for the Muslim American community.