US Lawmakers Push for Stronger Response to Hate Crimes Targeting South Asians

Washington — A group of South Asian American lawmakers and elected officials is calling for stronger measures to address hate, harassment and violence targeting the community following a national roundtable led by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi.

The meeting brought together federal, state and local officials to discuss discrimination faced by South Asian Americans and examine ways to improve hate-crime prevention, reporting and enforcement.

U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Ami Bera, Suhas Subramanyam and Shri Thanedar joined Krishnamoorthi at the discussion, along with elected officials from several states. Representatives from Indian American Impact and Stop AAPI Hate also participated.

“Today’s roundtable brought together South Asian leaders from across the country to confront the rise in hate, harassment, and violence our communities are seeing and focus on what we can do about it,” Krishnamoorthi said.

“This is about protecting South Asian Americans, but it is also about making clear that no American should be made to feel they do not belong because of where they were born, how they worship, or what their name sounds like,” he added.

Krishnamoorthi said the discussion also underscored the need for legislation such as the Hate Crimes Commission Act, which is intended to improve understanding of the causes of hate crimes and identify ways to prevent violence.

Participants discussed factors contributing to anti-South Asian hate, obstacles to reporting incidents and measures that federal, state and local governments could take to improve prevention and response efforts.

State and local elected officials participating in the roundtable represented North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia, California, Michigan, Texas and Pennsylvania. Indian American Impact Executive Director Chintan Patel and Stop AAPI Hate co-founder Manju Kulkarni also attended.

The meeting comes amid growing concern among South Asian American organizations and elected officials over discrimination and violence based on ethnicity, religion and national origin.

Krishnamoorthi, who represents Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, reintroduced the Hate Crimes Commission Act in May with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and House co-sponsors Grace Meng and Nydia Velázquez.

The bill would create a bipartisan U.S. Commission on Hate Crimes to study factors contributing to such offenses, including the influence of social media and technology, barriers to accurate reporting and possible prevention strategies. It would also require the Government Accountability Office to review federal hate-crime data collection systems.

Federal data cited when the legislation was reintroduced showed that more than 11,000 single-bias hate-crime incidents involving nearly 14,000 victims were reported to the FBI in 2024. The incidents targeted people based on factors including race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. (Source: IANS)