| Washington, D.C. – On March 18th at 10:00 a.m., the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing on the discrimination and violence Asian Americans have faced both historically and since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There has been a long history of anti-Asian racism in the United States, especially during times of social or economic unrest. Unfortunately, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this bigotry has reared its ugly head once again,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). “As President Biden said, the rise in violence against our fellow Asian Americans is wrong, un-American, and it must stop. The Committee will examine this issue and explore ways to prevent racially-motivated discrimination and violence. I look forward to seeing this work lead to meaningful change.”
Witnesses:
First Panel:
- The Honorable Doris Matsui, Member of Congress
- The Honorable Judy Chu, Member of Congress
- The Honorable Tammy Duckworth, United States Senator
- The Honorable Grace Meng, Member of Congress
Second Panel:
- John C. Yang, Esq., President & Executive Director, Asian American Advancing Justice – AAJC
- Manjusha P. Kulkarni, Esq., Executive Director, Stop AAPI Hate, Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council
- Erika Lee, PhD., Regents Professor of History and Asian American Studies, Director, Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota
- Charles Lehman, Fellow, Manhattan Institute, and Contributing Editor, City Journal
- Wencong Fa, Esq., Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
- Daniel Dae Kim, Actor and Producer
- Shirin Sinnar, Esq., Professor of Law & John A. Wilson Faculty Scholar, Stanford Law School
- Hiroshi Motomura, Esq., Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law, Faculty Co-Director, Center for Immigration Law and Policy, UCLA School of Law
Date: March 18, 2021
Time: 10:00 a.m. ET
Location: 2141 Rayburn House Office Building
Livestream: The hearing will stream live here.
Background:
Xenophobia and anti-Asian racism has been prevalent in the United States since the 19th century, leading to discriminatory policies including the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and Executive Order 9066, which ordered the forced internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. In the aftermath of the September 11th attack on the United States, South Asian, Muslim, and Middle Eastern Americans increasingly became the targets of violence and discrimination, and in the week following the terrorist attack, media outlets reported 645 bias incidents targeting people perceived to be Muslim or of Middle Eastern descents.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a notable surge in harassment and violence against the Asian American community. In part sparked by xenophobic rhetoric framing fault for the coronavirus around its country of origin, Asian Americans, notably those of Chinese-descent or assumed Chinese-descent, have suffered increased rates of violence, harassment, and intimidation over the last year.
NOTE: The Committee on the Judiciary is following guidelines developed in consultation with the Office of the Attending Physician (OAP) and the House Sergeant at Arms. The OAP recommends all individuals maintain 6-foot social distance spacing as much as practicable when in the Capitol Complex. Additionally, on the advice of the OAP, the use of a face covering is required for all attendees of this proceeding. The general public will not be allowed to attend in person, however, the hearing will be streamed live.
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