Advocates praise new White House actions to counter rising anti-Asian violence

Asian American advocates and lawmakers lauded the Biden White House on Tuesday for a series of actions aimed at addressing a spike in anti-Asian hate incidents in the aftermath of a shooting in Atlanta that killed six Asian American women.

The response suggests that, the White House was mending relationships with a community on edge after initial stumbles over a lack of Asian American representation in the Biden administration that culminated in public protests by two Democratic senators.

Among the moves announced Tuesday is a reinstatement of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which was first established during the Clinton administration, with an expanded mandate and an “initial focus on anti-Asian bias and violence,” including gender-based violence. The Biden administration also vowed to appoint a permanent director of the initiative to coordinate policies across the government.

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Judy Chu (D-Calif.) said her group commended Biden “for his leadership to ensure that the safety and well-being of the AAPI community is prioritized.” Chris Lu, one of the highest-ranking Asian Americans to serve in the Obama administration, called Biden’s approach a demonstration of his commitment to Asian Americans and a “stark contrast from the previous administration.”

Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC executive director John Yang said his group appreciated the "continued focus" and the initiatives from the Biden administration and said they would help address "racial equity in the long-term."

In addition, the White House announced a new $49.5 million grant program for Asian American and Pacific Islander survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault under the Department of Health and Human Services, a Covid-19 Equity Task Force to address xenophobia against Asian Americans and a Justice Department cross-agency initiative addressing rising hate crimes against Asian Americans.

The grant program drew praise from the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, whose executive director Sung Yeon Choimorrow thanked Biden for “highlighting the experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islander women and girls in this critical moment.”

President Joe Biden's moves came one week after two Asian American Democratic senators publicly criticized his White House for its meager representation of Asian Americans in senior positions. None of Biden’s Cabinet secretaries are Asian American or Pacific Islanders, though United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, technically a Cabinet-level official, is Asian American.

Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) initially vowed to oppose Biden nominees until the White House offered a more significant plan to address Asian American issues but later said their obstruction would be unnecessary after getting assurances from the White House.

Duckworth applauded Biden in a statement for “recognizing our community’s pain and taking concrete actions to protect AAPI individuals from violence and root out anti-Asian bias while also supporting the victims of hate crimes,” and Hirono said the actions were a “clear demonstration of presidential leadership” and “a critical step forward.”

The new DOJ initiative would also aim to improve reporting of hate crimes. According to a SurveyMonkey/AAPI Data survey released Tuesday, 10 percent of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders had experienced hate crimes or incidents in 2021, compared to a national average of 6 percent of Americans.

The Senate is set to take action next month on a bill from Hirono and Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) that would appoint a DOJ official to help expedite the review of Covid-related hate crimes and beef up state and local hate crime reporting. Biden’s Tuesday announcement reiterated his call on Congress to pass that bill, though it faces an uphill climb to becoming law without any Senate Republican support. Similar legislation addressing hate crimes was introduced in the last Congress, but other than a House-passed nonbinding resolution condemning anti-Asian sentiment, no hate crimes measure became law.

Duckworth had dropped her threat to oppose Biden nominees after securing what she described as a commitment for the appointment of a senior White House official focused on Asian American issues. Tuesday’s announcement did not include any details on that official’s portfolio, but White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday the senior-level official would “be working on policy and outreach.”