Dozens of liberal groups oppose an anti-Asian hate crime bill that’s making its way through Congress.
The more than 75 Asian and LGBT groups railed against the legislation because it “relies on anti-Black, law enforcement responses,” the organizations wrote in a letter made public on Wednesday. The groups also indicated that the bill would contradict “Asian solidarity with Black, Brown, undocumented, trans, low-income, sex worker, and other marginalized communities whose liberation is bound together.”
“The bolstering of law enforcement and criminalization does not keep us safe and in fact harms and furthers violence against Asian communities facing some of the greatest disparities and attacks – sex workers, low wage workers, people with disabilities, people living with HIV, youth, women, trans and non binary people, migrants amongst [sic] others,” the groups wrote. “It also ignores that police violence is also anti-Asian violence, which has disproportionately targeted Black and Brown Asians.”
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The organizations also contested the assertion that “police are safe” and instead insisted they are adversaries for transgender people, undocumented immigrants, and “BIPOC,” which is short for black and indigenous people of color.
“The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act further assumes that the police are safe, but we know that police are devastating and deadly for BIPOC, trans, undocumented, sex workers, and many other communities,” the letter read.
“We call on our communities to demand more in this moment to address root causes and create true systemic change that does not rely on law enforcement,” the letter continued.
The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act directs the Justice Department “to facilitate the expedited review of hate crimes,” mandates the DOJ to consult local departments on online reporting, and provides grants for “state-run hate crimes reporting hotlines,” among other provisions. The bill, which was generated in response to a rise in anti-Asian crime stemming from the pandemic, cleared the Senate by an overwhelming 94-1 vote on April 22.
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The more than 75 liberal groups insisted the passage was not cause for celebration and have instead demanded Congress “shift resources from law enforcement to communities,” a move akin to the “defund the police” movement. They also called for “bias violence” to be declared a “public health issue.”
