The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act was signed into law four months ago, but little appears to have come from its passage so far. And now, two Asian American lawmakers are demanding updates from the Department of Justice on its progress and implementation.
Cynthia Silva of NBC News reported that “Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., sent a letter on Sept. 20 to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the implementation of key provisions of the act that are ‘critical to its effectiveness.’”
“The letter — which highlights the increased violence toward older Asians and the Atlanta-area spa shootings that killed eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent — follows a recent FBI report that showed that the number of hate crimes last year was the highest in more than a decade,” Silva reported.
