On July 20, U.S. Rep. Ted W. Lieu (D-Torrance) led a bipartisan letter of 150 Members of Congress calling on Attorney General William Barr to publicly condemn acts of anti-Asian bias stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The members, which included U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and Tony Cárdenas (D-San Fernando Valley), also urged Barr to provide regular status updates regarding the steps the Department of Justice is taking and will take going forward to combat this behavior.

In the letter, the members thanked Barr for “featuring the quote ‘Coronavirus is no excuse for hate’ on the Department of Justice’s hate crimes website,” adding that “some Americans are facing increased discrimination as a result of the pandemic.”

“We write to draw particular attention to an increase in verbal and physical attacks as well as discrimination towards Asian Americans who have been wrongly blamed for the virus’ spread … Asian Americans are not responsible for the spread of coronavirus in the United States; yet, since the start of the pandemic, they have experienced continued harassment, violence and discrimination. As of June 3, the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council reported 2,066 incidents of coronavirus-related discrimination. These and numerous news reports have documented cases ranging from the denial of services at stores to verbal harassment on the subway to physical assaults,” the members wrote.

The members noted that, in the early 2000s, the Bush administration tried to prevent anti-Asian discrimination during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

“The Bush administration immediately took steps to prevent discrimination against Asian Americans by creating a community outreach team to monitor and document acts of anti-Asian bias and engage with the community,” the members wrote.

The members added that “despite the fear present within the community, each and every day, Asian Americans help to combat COVID-19.”

“Asian Americans are just as American as any other group of people in our country,” the members wrote to Barr. “We respectfully request that you, as head of the Department of Justice, forcefully condemn anti-Asian bias to send an unambiguous message to all Americans that discrimination against this community is un-American and will not be tolerated.”

For information, visit lieu.house.gov.