Sen. Duckworth: Anti-Asian hate crimes 'notoriously underreported'

Amid a nationwide rise in anti-Asian hate, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D., Ill.) wants the Department of Justice to look back at crimes committed against Asian Americans to determine if those crimes should have been classified as hate crimes.

"Hate crimes against AAPIs [Asian American and Pacific Islanders] are notoriously underreported — and in fact, they're often classified as a mugging or vandalism or arson," said Duckworth in an interview with Yahoo Finance. "There's a lot more work that needs to be done, but right now the data is just simply missing on how much hate crime there is against AAPIs."

In her new memoir, "Every Day is a Gift," Duckworth describes the racism she's endured throughout political campaigns and the struggles she faced as a biracial child in southeast Asia. She says growing up in Thailand, she felt like she didn't fit in with her family because her father was a white American man, but she's also treated as an outsider in the United States.

"We're the minority group that is often seen as 'permanently other,'" said Duckworth. "I've had people — Americans — come up to me and ask me where I'm really from, even while I'm wearing a uniform."

Duckworth, a helicopter pilot who served in Iraq, lost both her legs when her helicopter was shot down in 2004.

Duckworth told Yahoo Finance there should be more local training for law enforcement and the AAPI community, to help them learn how to "how to interact with folks who might target them."

"What we need to do is report it and be each other's allies — and step up," said Duckworth. "We have to be each other's keepers."

In recent weeks, Duckworth threatened to block President Biden's nominees over lack of AAPI representation in his cabinet. Duckworth dropped the threat after the administration promised to appoint a senior White House official to represent the AAPI community and made other assurances to ensure diversity.

"Representation matters," said Duckworth. "We all need a seat at the table, and until the government is as diverse as the American people, we will not be a truly representative form of government."

Jessica Smith is chief political correspondent for Yahoo Finance, based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter at @JessicaASmith8.

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