Voicing concerns over discrimination against South Asian American communities, a group of elected representatives called for concrete steps to combat hate and prevent violence.
The demand was made during a roundtable of elected officials of South Asian origin convened by Indian American Impact and Stop AAPI Hate at the US Capitol on Wednesday.
The roundtable was attended by US Congresspersons Raja Krishnamoorthi, Shri Thanedar, Ami Bera, Suhas Subramanyam, Pramila Jayapal and local elected officials of South Asian origin, including state senators and assembly members.
“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,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement.
Participants discussed what South Asian communities are experiencing, the forces “driving hate” and strategies to strengthen prevention, reporting and response.
“That is why I have been working to strengthen our response to hate crimes, including through the Hate Crimes Commission Act, so we can better understand what is driving this hate and prevent violence before it happens,” Krishnamoorthi, the Congressman from Illinois, said.
“We heard directly from leaders who’ve been personally targeted, and about what’s happening in their districts and communities. This is one of many conversations to come. We’ll be facilitating conversations like this across the country in the months ahead,” Chintan Patel, Executive Director, Indian American Impact, said.
“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.
Earlier this year, Krishnamoorthi reintroduced the Hate Crimes Commission Act with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representatives Grace Meng and Nydia Velazquez.
The legislation seeks to establish a bipartisan commission to examine what is driving hate crimes, including the role of social media and technology, assess barriers to complete reporting, and identify successful prevention and response strategies.
The legislation would also require a Government Accountability Office audit of federal hate-crime data to improve the accuracy and reliability of information on hate crimes nationwide.
The roundtable included state and local elected officials from North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia, California, Michigan, Texas and Pennsylvania.
