Criticizing Patriot Act Lands Manlin Chee in Jail

[Dialectic]

http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=261f4ed6d61243ca90d31 45678d15f80

News Report, Yu-Yee Wu,
Asian Week, Jun 29, 2005

Having spent almost three decades offering legal service to immigrants, Chinese American immigration attorney Manlin Chee is now getting used to serving time instead.

Chee had been a nationally recognized lawyer for her work with immigrants, some of it pro bono, and much of it for Muslims, but things soured for her soon after she appeared on a panel discussing the PATRIOT Act in March 2003.

The public forum at the main library in Greensboro, North Carolina was televised and attracted a large audience. Chee argued passionately that the PATRIOT Act violated the Bill of Rights and threatened the civil rights of immigrants and U.S. citizens.

ìIíll never forget when Manlin joked that she had good news and bad news for the audience,î recalls Tim Hopkins, an attendee. ìShe said that the bad news is that those people taking pictures of the audience are from the FBI. The good news is that they are coming after the panelists first. It was prophetic.î

Indeed, within weeks the FBI began investigating Chee, says her attorney Locke Clifford. Clifford says the FBI had no record of complaints against her. But the agency began combing through thousands of Cheeís case files. They even went back to her own citizenship application. The agents interviewed her clients and employees for over a year, until they indicted Chee for immigration fraud on June 26, 2004.

It was a dramatic fall for the successful attorney who once had offices in three cities and thousands of clients. The American Bar Association awarded Chee its public service award in 1991, which was presented to her by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OíConnor. She also received the 1990 William L. Thorp Pro Bono Award by the North Carolina Bar Association. The Triad Business News called her ìone of the foremost immigration attorneys in North Carolina if not the country.î

Many think that it was her political views that caused Cheeís troubles.

ìShe was outspoken about the impact of the PATRIOT Act on the Muslim community and American citizens,î says Badi Ali, President of the Islamic Center of the Triad and Muslims for a Better North Carolina. Chee also demonstrated her support of the Muslim community by wearing Muslim garb on Fridays, says Cheeís youngest daughter, Leia Forgay. Forgay says it was symbolic. ìShe was letting people know that she will stand with them figuratively and literally.î

However, fellow Greensboro immigration attorney, Gerry Chapman, questions whether Chee was targeted for her views. ìThere are attorneys in North Carolina who have spoken out against the PATRIOT Act and against targeting of Muslims, and the vast majority of them have not been investigated and indicted.î He adds that he thinks Chee overextended herself. ìManlinís got a good heart, but she was trying to do too much for too many people.î

Attorney Anita Earls, director of Advocacy of the University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights in Chapel Hill, points out that Ïother immigration attorneys have engaged in worse practices Ö and they were not investigated.î She believes Chee was ìsingled out because of a combination of the clients she served and the fact that she was outspoken in her opposition to the war.î

The FBIís strongest evidence came from two sting operations, the first one within weeks after Chee had participated in the PATRIOT Act forum, says Clifford. The informants posed as needy Muslims. One informant wanted to pretend he was gay so he could seek asylum, and the other informant wanted a sham marriage to get his green card. Chee was indicted for filing papers on behalf of both.

According to Forgay, the informants wouldnít stop asking for Cheeís help: ìMy mom told them that thereís nothing I can do, but they kept coming back to her and she couldnít say no. She always tries to help Ö she went ahead and submitted the papers to try. She would feel worse if she didnít try.î

Cheeís former client and good friend, Melinda Macasero agrees. ìManlin had a hard time when she first came to the U.S., so she knows how hard it can be,î Macasero says. ìIf youíre an immigrant and youíre a client of hers, she would go the extra mile to help.î

Says Clifford, ìManlin never said no to anybody and the FBI probably said to themselves that if we run someone in there with a sad story, Manlin will probably take the bait.î

Chee now admits she was ìfoolishî for succumbing to the sham entreaties. She describes one informant as being ìintimidating,î constantly calling, going to her office, and badgering her when she avoided filing the papers for months. Feeling ìpushedî and suffering from an anxiety disorder, Chee finally relented under the pressure.

ìManlin did have some depression,î says her close friend, Amelia Leung. ìHer mental health does affect her sense of judgment sometimes.î

During Cheeís prosecution, a diverse group of community members rallied around her and formed the Manlin Chee Defense Committee, taking out a full-page ad in the local paper in her support (see sidebar). Notably missing, however, was a public outcry from the local Chinese community.

Meiling Yu, cultural promotion director of the Greensboro Chinese Association, says her organization just didnít know enough. ìBecause the charges are about her practice, which we are not familiar with, we didnít feel we had enough information to speak out in support of her.î She notes the impression that Chee was targeted for her outspokenness, but as a nonprofit, they did not feel they could make a political statement.

ìI can understand why they wouldnít speak out,î says Macasero. ìYou are dealing with the government, and [people] are afraid they are going to get in trouble.î

Ultimately, Chee pleaded guilty to the charges from the stings. Her daughter Leia, insists Chee pleaded guilty to keep her family together. The FBI had also indicted and charged Cheeís oldest daughter, Chernlian, because she was a paralegal in Cheeís office. Chernlian, who has an upcoming wedding, decided to cooperate with the prosecution: She would get probation if she pleaded guilty, but she would have to testify against her mother.

The anger in Leiaís voice is palpable when she discusses the effect of her sisterís decision. ìMy mom did the selfless thing and pleaded guilty to keep our family from tearing apart because she felt that this was a time when we needed to stick together. Ö The hardest thing is not living without my mom, but living with the tension in the house because of my older sister and what happened.î

Chee, however, fought all charges involving her work for real clients. Calling those charges ìhorsefeathers,î Chee states, ìI would rather rot in jail than to plead to charges where I prepared documents like every other lawyer in the country.î Immigration expert Ira Kurzban agreed, testifying at Cheeís sentencing hearing that her labor certification filings were like those of other attorneys.

Chee never went to trial. The federal prosecutor suddenly dropped all remaining charges against her, after she decided to plead guilty. On March 3, 2005, Judge James A. Beaty sentenced Chee to a year and a day in prison beginning April 22 at Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia, better known as Martha Stewartís prison. Chee will be unable to attend her daughter Chernlianís wedding in September.

A former U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights attorney, Earls believes the government was making an example of Chee.

ìThe U.S. Attorneyís office was certainly trying to send a message,î she says. ìBringing down someone who previously had a strong reputation as an aggressive advocate is much more attractive to the U.S. Attorneyís office than someone who doesnít aggressively stand up for immigrant rights.î

Chee has been on disability inactive status since April 2004 with the State Bar of North Carolina due to her mental health issues and cannot practice law. However, her youngest daughter, Leia, seems fiercely determined to take up her motherís torch and fight for the rights of immigrants. ìImmigrants are often neglected in the law and in the community,î Forgay observes. ìYou canít just leave out certain groups just because there are tensions with their community.î

The sixteen-year-old admits that previously, she did not want to be a lawyer because she hardly saw her mother, who was working all the time. Forgay has changed her mind. ìNow, after seeing what happened to my mom, they may be able to stop her, but they canít stop me from helping people who need it.î

Manlin Cheeís Struggle

March 2003

ï Manlin Chee criticizes the government at a public forum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

ï Undercover FBI agent, John Doe I, appears at Cheeís office seeking assistance for a sham marriage and begins taping conversations.

May 2003

ï A second undercover FBI agent, John Doe II, seeks Cheeís help for asylum and begins taping conversations.

September 2003

ï Chee begins receiving calls from clients who say that they are being interviewed by the FBI.

ï She retains Locke Clifford as her attorney.

October 2003

ï Clifford writes a letter to the U.S. Attorneyís office about the investigation and informing them that due to mental health issues, Chee has been planning to close her law practice.

Late October/Early November 2003

ï Chee and daughter Chernlian receive ìtargetî of investigation letters from the FBI.

ï Cheeís office manager also receives a ìsubjectî of an investigation letter.

November 2003

ï Clifford meets with the U.S. attorney. He is told the investigations are not yet complete.

February 2004

ï Clifford asks if Chee can go to Singapore to see her gravely ill mother and her sister who just gave birth. U.S. Attorneyís office approves.

Early March 2004

ï Chee leaves for Singapore.

Late April 2004

ï Clifford calls her in Singapore to return immediately for indictment. Chee rushes back to the United States but is not indicted.

ï Chee goes on disability inactive status with the North Carolina State Bar.

Mid-May 2004

ï Clifford again asks the prosecutor when the indictments will come down, and is told the government is still investigating. He is given assurance that Chee and her daughter, Chernlian, will be allowed to present themselves to authorities without being taken into custody, and released without bond.

Early June 2004

ï Cheeís motherís health worsens and Chee returns to Singapore. Cheeís mother dies within hours of Cheeís arrival.

Late June 2004

ï Chee and her daughter, Chernlian, are indicted. Without prior notice, federal officers arrive at Cheeís home before 7:30 a.m. and take Chernlian into custody, handcuffing her and keeping her until she is able to contact her attorney.

ï Cheeís attorney calls her in Singapore to tell her to return for the indictments. Chee is unable to catch a flight back due to the summer season rush, tries to go stand-by, but does not get a seat. The government threatens extradition proceedings.

September 8, 2004

ï Chee returns to the United States as scheduled, landing at San Francisco International Airport. She is met at the gate, handcuffed and taken into custody.

September 9, 2004

ï Chee returns to Greensboro, North Carolina.

November 22, 2004

ï Chernlian, agrees to plea deal in exchange for testimony against he mother.

ï Chee gives notice that she will voluntarily change her plea to guilty for the charges involving only the sting informants.

November 23, 2004

ï Before Federal Judge James A. Beaty in the U.S. District Court in Winston-Salem, U.S. Attorneyís office voluntarily drops all remaining charges.

March 2-3, 2005

ï Chee appears for the sentencing hearing. Ira Kurzban and a witness from the North Carolina Dept. of Labor verify Cheeís legal work as acceptable and following legal practice norms. Under federal sentencing reduction guidelines Cheeís term will be about 10 months.

April 22, 2005

ï Chee reports to Alderson Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, West Virginia.

[tonic]

i dont see what the big deal is. She might have been singled out for her views, but she did break the law.

Mrs. Chee-Forgay will just have to contemplate that in prison.

http://indyweek.com/durham/2005-04-27/cover.html

[evil_FUX]

I guess, but can one really say that when she potentially might've been setup in the first place?

[B the student]

she was setup. She was not eager to break the law, she was being harassed and manipulated. justice was not being served.

[tonic]

Mrs. Chee-Forgay admitted on tape to breaking the law. She had a history of breaking the law. She is not a victim of entrapment. She is guilty.

Case Closed.

[xian]

Mrs. Chee-Forgay admitted on tape to breaking the law. She had a history of breaking the law. She is not a victim of entrapment. She is guilty.

Case Closed.

Do you understand the difference between the two things?

We are all guilty of some sort of crimes. That's not a justification for the government to pursue people who criticize it or it doesn't like because of the color of their skin.

What if we upped the penalty on parking tickets to 100 years in prison and the police only ticketed people of Asian descent? Would the explanation, "well, they were breaking the law!" fly?

[JadeDragon]

In spite of the fact that Mrs. Chee-Forgay married a white man, she was still set up. The FBI have a history of entrapping "undesirable" individuals, especially those who do not hold the same, "safe" opinions endorsed by the US government. These victims are continually harrassed by undercover agents until they give in and commit criminalised acts, for which they are then imprisoned. She may have broken the law in the past, but for the court to find her guilty of only the trumped-up charges manufactured by the FBI is patently unfair.

Here is another example:

http://www.bmezine.com/news/pubring/20050610.html

The Entrapment and Imprisonment of Todd Bertrang

ìUnder a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.î

- Henry David Thoreau

At age forty, after single-handedly creating the ìmuscle carî trend in America, John Delorean was put in charge of Pontiac, making him the youngest division head in GM history. After four years of record profits he was promoted again to head of Chevrolet, which in two years he transformed from a financially troubled company to one with sales equal to every other GM brand combined. Then in 1973, at age 48 and the peak of his career, John Delorean quit to do charity work. Many were predicting that one day he would be President of the United States.

A few years after leaving, John Delorean started showing the car that would later become the DMC-12, the exotic gullwing-door stainless steel-skinned car which most people know best from the Back To The Future movies. The car was originally called the DSV ó the Delorean Safety Vehicle ó and was designed not as a sportscar, but as a safe daily driver which tried to address many of the problems John saw with modern car production. At the same time, Delorean co-authored a book called On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors, in which he accused GM of stagnation and caring more about profits than the customers or the cars.

As the DMC-12 approached production, Delorean attempted to block the publication of his own book, fearing that the big car companies with their massive government lobbying power would do everything they could to sink his new venture at its most vulnerable point. Even with a huge grant from the Irish government, and a wonderful car (having owned a Delorean, I say that with some conviction) that was Europeís only profitable car for the years it was made, the company was plagued with problems ó said to source from many questionable payoffs to British government officials by GM ó and it wasnít long before it was in serious monetary difficulty.

Undercover FBI agents approached Delorean, offering to solve his financial woes. They proposed that cocaine be loaded into the door panels of his cars as they were shipped overseas, using them to transport the drug. John Delorean was arrested for conspiracy to traffic narcotics, and as he fought the charges, the DMC company went bankrupt, and the government ó which received millions of dollars in ìdonationsî from GM ó moved in illegally and seized all of the tooling from the company, and, contrary to UK automobile law, dumped the tooling in the ocean insuring that not only could the company not be resurrected after the trial, but replacement parts couldnít even be made.

The only reason that John Delorean avoided a long term prison sentence is that Hustler publisher Larry Flynt was able to obtain tapes showing not only that the drug trafficking idea was invented and proposed by the US government, but that both the cocaine and the money were provided FBI, and most importantly, that John Delorean told the undercover agents that he wasnít interested and begged to be let go ó the tapes show the agents actually threatening to kill John Deloreanís daughter if he didnít proceed with the drug deal. It should also be noted that Larry Flynt was briefly imprisoned for contempt of court for revealing this information.

Deloreanís lawyer was later quoted in Time magazine saying, ìThis was a fictitious crime. Without the government, there would be no crime.î

John Delorean recently died destitute, having failed to bring his dream car back to market.

That brings us to piercer and cutter Todd Bertrang, a regular BME contributor that was first profiled in PFIQ magazine. In addition to his successful business dealing in and restoring classic Indian Motorcycles, he is best known for his advocation of heavy gauge piercing, alternative herbal aftercare, and his interest in female genital cutting ó labial removal, hood splitting and removal, and even clitoral tip removal. At age forty, he was almost single-handedly responsible for the popularity of female genital modification, which, largely due to his promotion of it, had moved out of the fetish scene and become a lucrative business for cosmetic surgeons.

While many outsiders disapproved of Toddís methods and highly sexual lifestyle, the vast majority of Toddís clients ó all consensual of course ó spoke extremely highly of him and were very happy with the work heíd done on them.

Toddís interest in body modification was almost exclusively sexual ó as is the case for the vast majority of people who came into body modification before it became a fashion trend. It turned him on, plain and simple, and he never hid that fact or felt ashamed of it. An irrepressible flirt (thatís putting it kindly ó others would say ìdirtbag sleaze that kept hitting on my fifteen year-old kid sister and didnít stop when she told him to get lostí ó well, welcome to the world of the Internet), Todd made more enemies than he knew in BMEís chat rooms and other online forums, mostly among sexually repressed individuals who felt body modification was best paired with a chic haircut and no needles ó let alone scalpels ó below the belt.

A group of chatters who were offended by Toddís comments and online advances conspired to get rid of Todd for good, and synchronized fraudulent reports to authorities in his area, the FBI, and other government agencies. ìTodd Bertrang did a circumcision on a ten year old,î they told agents, claiming that heíd boasted about it online and showed them pictures. Even though even a cursory investigation of Todd would make it clear that the idea of cutting a ten year old would be reprehensible to him, as these fabrications continued to pour in, eventually the FBI had no choice but to start an investigation under Californiaís anti-FGM (female genital mutilation) laws, designed to stop immigrants from non-consensually mutilating their pre-pubescent daughtersí genitals for religious and cultural reasons.

Posing as an Egyptian couple with (non-existent) eight and twelve year old daughters, FBI agents approached Todd seeking his services as a cutter. They told him they didnít want to have to travel back to the Middle East and offered him $8,000 to do the procedure. Todd wasnít interested, and told them so, although he was willing to talk to them about the pros and cons of the procedure. He told his friends about this couple and expressed his dismay that they would do this to children.

The FBI agents kept calling back, and even visited, pushing Todd to do the procedure. Eventually they told Todd that ìone hand washes the otherî, and let him know that they were interested in moving their assets from Egypt to the United States. If heíd be willing to help them out with their problem with their daughters, theyíd be willing to invest $20 million in his motorcycle business.

ìIíll think about it,î he told them.

Ask yourselves: how far would you compromise your ethics for $20 million? Thatís an amount of money so high that youíd be able to fulfill all your dreams and live in luxury for the rest of your life. At how many million dollars does your cracking point lie?

And then, before letting him decide whether or not heíd actually make such an ethical compromise, in late 2002 the FBI raided his house, and Todd Bertrang and his girlfriend Robyn have been in prison ever since. No real evidence was ever presented against them, and no trial was ever held. Virtually no one stood up to defend Todd, and even those who supported of him cowered cautiously, fearing that they would be next. Robyn was threatened with the loss of her daughter, and eventually the two of them, being told they would be spending the rest of their lives in prison should they plead not guilty, chose to make a false confession on a variety of charges in exchange for reduced time. Todd received five years, and Robyn two.


* * *


Iíd like to take give you an overview of what they were actually ìconvictedî of.

Child Porn
The ìchild pornî in question is a photo of Robynís daughter running around their house. It is a casual family snapshot that they had posted on their websites (currently offline) and was certainly not sexual in any way, and no different than the photos that surely exist in a vast number of family photo albums around the world. However, child porn laws are written so broadly that virtually any photo of a child can be prosecuted in this way.

Obscenity
Robyn was convicted of obscenity for posting healed photos of her genital modification. The photos were documentary in nature and barely in a sexual context (one of the photos she was convicted on is shown below ó will I be next?). Outside of all the other free speech, general hypocrisy, and selective prosecution issues in this case, the fact is that photos exactly like this are all over the Internet, including on the websites of the many cosmetic surgeons offering this very procedure.

Conspiracy to Violate FGM Laws
During the trial, copies of the email Todd exchanged with the agents were released. These emails show Todd urging the ìparentsî to reconsider the operation, advising them that doing this procedure on children will scar them sexually and emotionally and that they will not benefit from it ó not until they start floating $20 million in front of him does he start to waver. The fact is that Todd has no record of working on children and is only motivated in working on sexually mature individuals because thatís where his interest lies. Suggesting that Todd is part of a shadowy Islamic network of pseudo doctors cutting childrenís genitals is fraudulent.

Felon in Possession of a Firearm
Alright, that one is probably legitimate, although Todd claims that itís more a matter of confusion and not being told that it was an issue ó thanks to Americaís lax laws on gun purchases, no red flags showed up when he bought a handgun for home protection and he never considered at the time it was a problem.


* * *


In conclusion, as John Deloreanís lawyer said about him, about Todd Bertrang I repeat: ìThis was a fictitious crime. Without the government, there would be no crime.î

Todd Bertrang was falsely accused, falsely prosecuted, and now sits falsely imprisoned due to being sexually different than the average person, and uncontrollably vocal about it. Five years of his life are gone, his family has been ripped apart, his business has been destroyed and his assets stolen, and dangerous precedents have been set. Those of you who conspired to make this happen should be ashamed of yourselves, and the government shows once again its incompetence and inherent prejudicial nature by again jailing the victim rather than the real criminals.

As I write this, parts of the United States are considering criminalizing even nostril piercings ó how far will this go? Cutters, and all people who are different from the mainstream ó gays, fetishists, atheists, piercers, unionists, and the rest ó I warn you: keep an anonymous and low profile, or get out of America before the same happens to you.


Shannon Larratt
BMEzine.com


I received the following letter from a close friend of Toddís that has been helping him keep his affairs in order while heís behind bars. Iíd like to share it here if anyone would like to help out or even just send Todd a note letting him know he has support. Iíll post again on this subject when the address is updated, but as of now the San Bernadino one is still good.


Todd got a five year sentence, but it is more like a death sentence. All the newspapers portrait him as a child genital mutilator. He might never come out a live, even though he never agree to do any genital mutilations on children. His life has already been threatened several times since heís been in custody. Todd had no choice but to plea bargain to a lot of these charges. For the charge of conspiracy he was facing five years to life.
At this point Todd is a dead man walking. All the newspaper and news media should be so very proud of themselves, they just gave Todd a dead sentence for a crime he never committed. He is in absolute terror not knowing where his going. The prosecutor hates Todd so much that even when the judge gave Todd the five year sentence, he insisted that the judge should had given Todd a longer sentence. They also made sure the media was present for his sentencing.

Robyn will be out in about two months. She has requested not to have any contact with Todd. She also requested not to be transported with him to court, or be next to each him in the holding cells during the court proceedings. Thatís what I call loyalty!!!

We still owe [Toddís Lawyer] $52,000. By the grace of God Iíve been able to sell a lot of our furniture and parts, but there is very little left. I have sold everything for pennies on the dollar. If there are any supporters out there, please ask if they could help us out with any small donations sent directly to him. Todd spends about $80.00 a month for food and personal hygiene. Iím pretty sure that youíre aware of what a great business is to put people behind bars.

They can only send a money order or cashiers checks, payable to "Todd Bertrang".


Todd Bertrang
BKG# 0407301101 AS-3
630 E. Rialto Ave
San Bernardino, Ca. 92415

Kind regards,
[Name removed]

You can send letters and cards to that address, as well as any financial support you can offer if youíd like, but nothing else can be sent there. Books and magazines can be sent, but they have to come straight from the source (ie. you can have Amazon send them there, but you canít mail a book there).

[tonic]

the fact still remains that if she was clean, she wouldnt have been sent to jail. I dont see how anyone can absolve her of her past crimes and compare it to unpaid parking tickets. That is absurd. She harbored illegal immigrants and facilitated their passage into the U.S. for profit. Sure, she's a kinder, friendlier snakehead, but that doesnt make her OK in my book.

let Mrs. Chee-Forgay do her time in jail. Who knows, she might come out fighting. Just like Malcolm.

Case Closed

[xian]

I'm sorry, I have too much of a direct experience with illegal immigration to embrace the racist FBI going after yellow people for trying to help people survive the ridiculous system we have in place.

There are thousands of people rotting in prison right now because Immigration hates people of color. They broke the law, so they deserve to be there? What the fuck is that? Go lock up some white people for once! I don't care if you were born here, if you turn 18 and have never held a job, I'm shipping your ass back to the U.K. or whereever you didn't actually ever come from.

[tonic]

sigh...I'm getting really tired over this and I'm not going to lose sleep over this snakehead. To those people who think she was wrongfully imprisoned, let me ask you one question- Would you want this woman as your immigration lawyer? Yes or no.

and JD, a bmezine link? damn, you lost some cool points there. :P

[KeJia Sista]

the fact still remains that if she was clean, she wouldnt have been sent to jail. I dont see how anyone can absolve her of her past crimes and compare it to unpaid parking tickets. That is absurd. She harbored illegal immigrants and facilitated their passage into the U.S. for profit. Sure, she's a kinder, friendlier snakehead, but that doesnt make her OK in my book.

let Mrs. Chee-Forgay do her time in jail. Who knows, she might come out fighting. Just like Malcolm.

Case Closed

I dont see that she did anything that the Pilgrims didnt do.
Ke Jia

[KeJia Sista]

David Wong was found not guilty of the murder that kept him imprisoned for 20 years. Because of terrorism and immigration laws he is being deported any day now.

The government is going after activist lawyers like never before (look up Lynn Stewart). If you are wrongly accused or racially profiled; the safe lawyers will be scared to take a controversial case. Sometimes it is a lawyer like this who is willing to rock the boat.

Ke Jia