A California lawmaker is the latest member of Congress to call for an investigation into a Chinese-speaking customs officer who she said “accosted” members of a U.S. artist group over their faith at Chicago’s O'Hare airport.
Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.), in a letter to Troy Miller, acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), pointed to the “alarming events” at the airport, which included the officer’s openly labeling New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts as “political” and “illegal” to his peers and asking questions that the artists found troubling.
Ms. Steele said the customs officer’s behavior on March 11 ended up “traumatizing members of the troupe and causing unnecessary delays.”
“The inappropriate questioning and accusations made by the customs official echoed Chinese Communist Party propaganda used to disparage the group,” she wrote in the March 20 letter, a copy of which was shared with The Epoch Times.
She asked the federal law enforcement agency to “fully investigate this instance for any connection to the Chinese Communist Party.”
Shen Yun’s tour manager, Teresa Du, recalled that the customs officer said to nearby officers: “They’re Falun Gong. They’re political. They’re illegal.”
The customs officer asked the U.S.-born Ms. Du whether her group was “being sponsored by Falun Gong.” He also approached other counters while other dancers were being processed.
Propaganda aimed at vilifying the faith appears in Chinese school textbooks and state media. The word “political” is often used as an attack word to frame adherents’ attempts to call for an end to the systematic abuse.
About a dozen congressional offices have publicly criticized the officer’s conduct or expressed their disquietude in private.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), in an earlier letter to CBP, said the behavior from the officer amounts to “a breathtaking and reprehensible violation of their constitutional rights” if substantiated.
“The Shen Yun performers, some of whom are U.S. Citizens, may have been discriminated against due to their belief in Falun Gong,” he wrote on March 15.
Mr. Perry said an “immediate investigation” is critical—and not only for protecting all U.S. citizens’ First Amendment rights.
“Perhaps as urgent is the need to ascertain and prevent officers with foreign sympathies from gaining and using an official position to assert their personal beliefs on others,” he said.
Ms. Steel, who has personally seen Shen Yun perform, said it “captures and revives traditional Chinese culture.”
“Religious profiling by an American government official is inexcusable, and failure to hold this individual accountable risks further discriminatory behavior.”
When asked for comment on Ms. Steel’s letter, CBP told The Epoch Times that it “responds directly to members of Congress through the appropriate channels.”
