This could start further upstream. Is it possible US immigration inadvertently selects for unassertive East Asians?

East Asians were banned from the country for a long time, I would not be surprised if there was a specific selection criteria put in place when that ban was lifted.

One would expect the more assertive to openly/unapologetically defend their history and decisions of leaders like Mao. Thanks to tremendous western propaganda that's probably a red flag (no pun intended) for most immigration agents.