Meng Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee on Anti-Asian Hate and Violence

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), First Vice Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, today testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties about the rise in anti-Asian hate related to COVID-19.

To view Meng's remarks before the committee, click here.

"I want to thank Chair Cohen and Chair Nadler for holding today's hearing on anti-Asian hate and violence against Asian Americans. It was tremendous for the House Judiciary Committee to give a platform to see our pain and hear our anguish. For the last year, Asian Americans have been terrorized by the COVID-19 virus and the virus of despicable racism and discrimination," said Meng. "Our community is bleeding. We are in pain, and we have been screaming out for help for the last year. There have been nearly 3,800 reported incidents of anti-Asian hate and nearly 70 percent of reported anti-Asian hate incidents have come from Asian American women. That is why the murder of the six Asian women in the Atlanta-area is even more tragic – because the Asian American community has been sounding the alarm for so long. Today, Republicans had an opportunity to stand with the Asian American community, but instead they chose to conflate the issue of anti-Asian hate and our community's pain with issues unrelated to this crisis; shame on them. What's happening to Asian Americans across the country is heartbreaking and we cannot turn a blind eye to people living in fear. I hope today's hearing will bring us together and demonstrate this is not an Asian American issue, but an American issue."

Other witnesses included Asian American community advocates, professors, think-tanks, and fellow lawmakers.