On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced new actions in response to “anti-Asian violence, xenophobia and bias” in the wake of recent attacks against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) people across the country. The moves come after a man was captured on video physically assaulting a 65-year-old Asian woman outside a New York City apartment building on Monday, and six Asian women were shot and killed at three massage parlors in Atlanta two weeks ago.
“We can’t be silent in the face of rising violence against Asian Americans,” President Joe Biden tweeted on Tuesday. “That’s why today I’m taking additional steps to respond – including establishing an initiative at the Department of Justice to address anti-Asian crimes. These attacks are wrong, un-American, and must stop.”
We can’t be silent in the face of rising violence against Asian Americans. That’s why today I’m taking additional steps to respond–including establishing an initiative at the Department of Justice to address anti-Asian crimes.
These attacks are wrong, un-American, and must stop.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 30, 2021
A White House fact sheet said the measures were necessary “to advance equity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities through a whole-of-government approach to racial justice.”
The changes include establishing a DOJ “cross-agency initiative” to track anti-Asian hate crime reports, having the FBI conduct “civil rights training events to promote state and local law enforcement reporting of hate crimes,” and a new COVID-19 Equity Task Force committee “on addressing and ending xenophobia against Asian Americans.”
Exclusive: @POTUS announcing new actions to combat violence against Asian Americans, including establishing a new DOJ initiative, allocating $49.5M for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and creating a new COVID-19 task force to end xenophobia.
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) March 30, 2021
CBS News reports, “the administration said on Tuesday that it is reinstating the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and expanding the initiative’s original mandate to include coordination across federal agencies to respond to anti-Asian bias and violence, with a particular focus on gender-based violence against Asian Americans.” President Joe Biden will appoint a permanent Director to lead the effort, a White House statement said.
According to CBS, the Initiative was launched during the Clinton administration but “currently has no direct staff at either the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), where the initiative is housed, or other agencies that are supposed to designate liaisons.” The outlet went on to report, “the current page for the initiative on the MBDA website has also not been updated since Mr. Biden took office, as it features a picture of former President Donald Trump and his picks for the group, causing some concern that the current White House has not been fully interested in reshaping it.”
The administration also announced that the Department of Health and Human Services would direct $49.5 million from the coronavirus relief package Biden signed earlier this month to a new grant program. It will fund “community based, culturally specific services and programs for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault who face additional barriers to services and safety, such as language access barriers.” The plan will expand services to AAPI communities.
Officials also indicated the National Science Foundation had invested more than $33 million supporting research grants “to understand, address, and end bias, discrimination and xenophobia, including against AAPI communities.”
“These diverse researchers are advancing innovative studies to reveal new and more effective strategies for reducing the frequency and severity of discrimination experienced by historically underrepresented groups,” the White House statement said.
Senator Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, and Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) introduced the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act earlier this month that would expedite the federal review of pandemic-related hate crimes and provide support for state and local law enforcement agencies to respond to those reports.
“Racism is never far below the surface in America, which is all too evident as the AAPI community has experienced escalating attacks and targeted violence during the pandemic,” tweeted Senator Hirono on Tuesday. “We must confront the systems that allowed this hatred to fester and spread – exactly what @POTUS is doing.”
Rep. David Trone (D-Maryland) said, “These new actions will root out hate, promote inclusivity, and save lives.”