UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW  Suite 1150  Washington, DC20425 www.usccr.gov

Letter of Transmittal
September 27, 2023
President Joseph R. Biden
Vice President Kamala Harris
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy
President Pro Tempore of the Senate Patty Murray
On behalf of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (“the Commission”), I am honored totransmit our briefing report addressing Anti-Asian hate entitled, “The Federal Response to AntiAsian Racism in the United States." The full report is available on the Commission's website atwww.usccr.gov.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a troubling amount of incidents
stemming from anti-Asian animus, many rising to the criminal level which has caused substantial
concerns surrounding hate crimes and discrimination against persons of Asian descent in theUnited States. As a result, this report marks the second time the Commission has examined therise of anti-Asian racism and discrimination in its 65-year history.
In May 2021, the Commission urged the Administration to address anti-Asian racism andxenophobia, emphasizing that scapegoating Asian communities is not a new phenomenon. These
harmful stereotypes have persisted since the 19th Century, when Asian immigrants were unjustly
labeled the “Yellow Peril.” Media, medical journals, and government officials propagated thefalse ideas that Asians were “dirty, diseased, sinister, sexually depraved, invasive, andperpetually foreign.” These stereotypes have also fueled violence against Asian communities,
such as the 1980s “Dotbusters” attacks on South Asians in New Jersey and the post-9/11 hatecrimes in New York City, which marked one of the FBI’s highest reported hate crime numbers
since 1992.
In October 2022, as a response to increased reports of anti-Asian hate crime and bias-motivatedincidents, the Commission voted to investigate the federal government’s role in combating theseincidents. This report examines three main areas: 1) national trends and data regarding the rise ofhate incidents and hate crimes against members of Asian communities; 2) local and state law
enforcement’s prevention and reporting practices regarding hate crimes; and 3) federal efforts
and policies that encourage greater participation in reporting hate crime incidents, as well as
prosecution and enforcement efforts to prevent hate crimes.

The report emphasizes the importance of not only acknowledging the issue but also taking
concrete actions to protect the rights and well-being of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
across the nation. This report is bolstered by this Commission’s specific findings andrecommendations (agreed upon by a bi-partisan majority), that will accompany the report for the
first time since 2019:
Findings
Data collection & reporting:● A major impediment to understanding the severity and magnitude of hate crimes against
persons of Asian descent is the lack of comprehensive data.
● The transition to the NIBRS data collection has been slow for some agencies: for 2021,
the number of participating agencies within the FBI hate crime database was 11,834,
compared to the 15,138 participating agencies for 2020 data, and many of the agencies
that have not submitted 2021 data are the largest jurisdictions.
Recommendations
Training & Partnerships:● Prosecutors and law enforcement should vigorously investigate and prosecute hate crimes
and harassment against Asian Americans.
● First responders should be provided with training aimed at teaching a clear understandingof what constitutes a hate crime in their jurisdiction.
Language access:● Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and victim services need to identify
critical deficiencies in Limited English Proficient (LEP) programs for individuals whoneed language assistance.
The Commission’s research highlights the urgent need for enhanced efforts in addressing andpreventing anti-Asian hate crimes. The Commission heard written and oral testimony fromacademic and policy experts, federal and local law enforcement officials, and members of thepublic. The Commission also sent formal requests for information to relevant federal offices atthe U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) andconducted extensive qualitative and quantitative research regarding the impact of hate crimes andbias-motivated incidents against Asian Americans in the U.S. during the height of the COVID-19
pandemic. Throughout that process, we heard from experts regarding a series of findings andrecommendations. These recommendations, while not adopted by the majority, are essential toaddress the pressing issues surrounding anti-Asian hate incidents and hate crimes.
Findings:● The myth of the “perpetual foreigner” continues to play a role in understanding the rise ofanti-Asian racism and discrimination during the pandemic.

● To contextualize the increased anti-Asian sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic, it isimportant to understand the history of anti-Asian racism and the “Yellow Peril” laws.
● During the pandemic, there were several other names that were used in the media and bygovernment officials to refer to COVID-19, including the “Chinese virus,” the “Kungflu,” and the “Wuhan virus,” potentially perpetuating negative views of Asian individuals
and communities and leading to many Asian Americans feeling blamed for bringing
COVID-19 to the U.S.
Data collection & reporting:● A major impediment to understanding the severity and magnitude of hate crimes against
persons of Asian descent is the lack of comprehensive data. Without mandatory national
data collection and training law enforcement on how to accurately identify and reporthate crimes, preventing these crimes is substantially challenging.
● Hate crime victims are less likely to report incidents due to fear of retaliation, concernsthat justice would not be served, and distrust in the criminal justice system.
● While the transition from the FBI’s UCR to NIBRS database intended to provide a more
complete picture of hate violence across the nation, the shift has been challenging formany jurisdictions, and hate crime data remains incomplete.
● The transition to the NIBRS data collection has been slow for some agencies: for 2021,
the number of participating agencies within the FBI hate crime database was 11,834,
compared to the 15,138 participating agencies for 2020 data, and many of the agencies
that have not submitted 2021 data are the largest jurisdictions.
● In March 2023, the FBI released a Supplemental Hate Crimes Statistics report andshowed that the number of anti-Asian reported incidents increased 167 percent from 279
in 2020 to 746 in 2021.
● National data show that all race-based hate crimes rose by 30 percent in 2020; andspecifically anti-Asian hate crimes increased over 70 percent in 2020. According to theBureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), anti-Asian hate crimes rose 164 percent in 16 of thelargest cities and counties in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in2020. BJA wrote that the first quarter increases in 2021 followed a “historic surge” inanti-Asian hate crimes that started in 2020, with anti-Asian hate crimes increasing 149
percent in 16 of the largest cities in 2020. Specifically, data show that the first spike ofanti-Asian hate crimes “occurred in March and April of 2020 concurrently with a rise in
COVID cases and negative stereotyping of Asians related to the pandemic.”● Hate crime data are underreported by victims and by law enforcement and are less likely
to be reported to police compared to other types of crimes, and some research suggeststhat Asian Americans may be even less likely to report discriminatory behavior when itoccurs.
● Data show that in California, hate crimes have increased steadily since 2019, and antiAsian hate crimes rose from 89 (6.7%) in 2020 to 248 (14.1%) in 2021. In San Francisco,all hate crime events increased from 2020 to 2021 (from 54 to 114), and the proportion ofanti-Asian events increased significantly, representing 16 percent of events in 2020 andmore than half of events in 2021.
● In New York, reported hate crimes dipped in 2020 before spiking in 2021. Anti-Asian
hate crimes rose from 31 (6.35%) in 2020 to 140 (18.11%) in 2021. In New York City,
the number of anti-Asian hate crimes in the city was one (0.2%) in 2019, rose to 27(10.2%) in 2020, and rose again to 131 (25%) in 2021.
● In the United States, 34% of the Asian American population is limited English proficient.
The most frequently spoken languages are Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Thai,Khmer, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, and Punjabi.
Barriers:● Few police departments have officers fluent in Asian languages, even in metropolitan
areas with high numbers of AAPI residents. Therefore, language barriers continue to be amajor barrier in reporting hate incidents and hate crimes.
● A major barrier to gaining a comprehensive understanding of the magnitude of hateviolence against Asian communities may be due to incidents not rising to the legal
benchmark of a hate crime. Many incidents that are reported to community organizations,such as being spit on or called racial slurs are not accounted for in official numbers, yetstill invoke fear in community members.
● Under the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, funding is provided for state and local incident
reporting hotlines, and in May 2022, DOJ expanded their language services to beavailable in 18 of the most frequently spoken AAPI languages across the nation.
However, at the Commission’s briefing panelists testified the local reporting hotlines,
victim services, and law enforcement were not accessible to victims with limited English
proficiency, possibly pointing to a discrepancy between federal and local resource
availability.
● The lack of hate crime prosecutions may also be a contributing factor to low reporting ofhate crimes. Prosecution of hate crimes is difficult, even in states with comprehensive
hate crime legislation, because there is no one legal standard to which courts have agreed,or because the standard to prove bias is too high.
● Most nonprofit and community resources trying to provide the public with ways tocombat anti-Asian violence include encouraging reporting hate incidents and hate crimes
to local law enforcement as well as to organizations collecting data, learning about thehistory of Asian American discrimination, and encouraging elected officials to pass antihate legislation.
● For struggling communities, the grantmaking process is cumbersome and difficult tomaneuver through.
● The true challenge in assessing whether the federal government is doing enough tocombat a rise in hate crimes lies in the absence of proper performance measurements.

Recommendations:
Data & Reporting:● FBI should require local law enforcement to submit crime data, or in lieu of that,
Congress should make submission mandatory, or consider a range of options to expand
implementation.
● Congress could also consider authorizing a new grant program that would provide
funding to state and local governments to cover expenses related to transitioning toNIBRS, such as purchasing new software and computers, or training officers on how touse NIBRS.
● Federal civil rights agencies should be required to collect and report key data related tocivil rights enforcement and the Attorney General to annually publish this data.
● DOJ should fund state and local government efforts in partnership with community
groups to address discrimination and other hate incidents.
● Law enforcement agencies should improve data collection, requiring the tracking andreporting of both hate incidents and hate crimes, and ensuring reporting forms are easy tomark an incident or crime as a suspected hate incident or crime.
Training & Partnerships:● The Justice Department should also provide safety training and workshops in therespective languages of targeted communities and expand federal funding for community
advocacy groups fighting hate crimes.
● The Justice Department should codify the role of the language access coordinator into
federal law to ensure that all individuals have equal access to justice and access to federal
programs and benefits regardless of language access.
● A written policy within a law enforcement organization can serve as a bridge between
hate crime legislation and implementation of that law by providing officers withinformation and a standard that the agency expects them to follow.
● Prosecutors and law enforcement should engage in joint training on hate crimes andcommunity engagements and law enforcement agencies may even consider
recommending that the prosecutor’s office have a designated attorney to prosecute hatecrimes in the community.
● Prosecutors and law enforcement should vigorously investigate and prosecute hate crimes
and harassment against Asian Americans.
● First responders should be provided with training aimed at teaching a clear understandingof what constitutes a hate crime in their jurisdiction.
● The FBI suggests state and local officials utilize the FBI’s resources, publicity tools,
forensic expertise, and experience in identifying and investigating hate-based motivations
even if federal hate crime charges are not pursued.

● A public health and gender-based approach to prevent hate in public spaces needs to becreated, including the street harassment of AAPI women and other vulnerable
communities.
● More investment should be given to strengthen and expand local networks so victims
have ready access to community-based places where they can report attacks, receive
support services, and take safety training and workshops in their own languages.
Language access:● Regarding language access, federal agencies need to review their compliance with Title
VI in Executive Order 13166 and take proactive steps to address any potential violations
to ensure that they provide language access services to individuals who need them.
● As recipients of federal finding, local law enforcement and victim services should also
comply with Title VI in Executive Order 13166 and provide language access such as
interpreters and bilingual officers who speak Asian languages.
● Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and victim services need to identify
critical deficiencies in Limited English Proficient (LEP) programs for individuals whoneed language assistance.
● Expand reporting hotlines or in-person contact for those limited English proficiency.
● Develop a language access policy statement prohibiting discrimination based on national
origin that grants equal access to all individuals, including those with limited English
proficiency and promotes effective communication through interpreter services,
document translation, and staff training.
Civil Rights Protections:● Title II of the Civil Rights Act should be expanded to include retail stores and otherbusinesses where discrimination occurs to protect employees and customers from biasbased discrimination and harassment.
● Businesses frequented by the public should be required to train employees on theirresponsibilities to customers, so that they know and understand their responsibility tomaintain a space free from bias-based harassment and discrimination, even if perpetrated
by other customers.
This report provides essential insights and guidance for policymakers, law enforcement agencies,and community organizations working towards a more inclusive and equitable society. The
Report is divided into three chapters:● Chapter 1 of the report discusses relevant federal hate crime laws, provides a brief
historical context of Asian discrimination, and presents national statistics regarding hatecrimes and hate incidents against persons of Asian descent from 2019-2022.

● Chapter 2 describes local law enforcement’s efforts to respond to rising hate crimes,evaluates reporting and prevention practices, and summarizes ongoing reporting andprevention challenges.
● Chapter 3 evaluates the federal government’s role in investigating, reporting, andprosecuting hate crimes.
We at the Commission are pleased to share our views, informed by careful research andinvestigation as well as civil rights expertise, to help ensure that all Americans enjoy civil rights
protections to which we are entitled.

For the Commission,Rochelle M. GarzaChair