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Biden directs agencies to counter anti-Asian hate in racial equity push

The president instructed the Justice Department to partner with AAPI communities to prevent future hate incidents.

President Joe Biden signed a presidential memorandum aimed at countering discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders on Tuesday, describing the resurgence of xenophobia as "unacceptable."

The memorandum (read it here), which states that the Biden administration's policy is "to condemn and denounce anti-Asian bias and discrimination," is part of a broader package of executive actions that the president signed to advance racial equity.

With the largely symbolic measure, Biden directed the U.S. Department of Justice to improve the tracking of hate incidents targeting AAPIs and to engage with AAPI communities to prevent further harassment and violence.

"The Attorney General shall explore opportunities to support, consistent with applicable law, the efforts of State and local agencies, as well as AAPI communities and community-based organizations, to prevent discrimination, bullying, harassment, and hate crimes against AAPI individuals, and to expand collection of data and public reporting regarding hate incidents against such individuals," the memo states.

Biden also instructed the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance "describing best practices to advance cultural competency, language access, and sensitivity towards AAPIs in the federal government's COVID-19 response."

Coronavirus-related hate incidents towards AAPI communities have risen dramatically in the past year. Leading activists and lawmakers contend that the surge was fueled by former President Trump’s use of racist, anti-Asian rhetoric like "China virus" and "Kung Flu."

A senior Biden administration official described the previous administration's "xenophobic propoganda" as "offensive and dangerous."

AAPI groups say their pleas for Trump to step up as anti-Asian violence soared in 2020 were mostly ignored, even after the FBI warned of a potential surge in hate crimes in a March intelligence report, which cited the stabbing of a Hmong American family in Midland, Texas.

In March, 180 civil rights organizations urged the White House to establish a task force “to investigate and protect the civil rights of AAPIs.” A month later, the Center for Public Integrity found that the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent backlash against Asian Americans “[pale] in comparison to actions taken during the SARS outbreak and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”

This article was updated at 12:14pm PST with text of the memorandum.

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