Haaland Votes to Condemn All forms of Anti-Asian Sentiment as Related to COVID-19, Hold Perpetrators Accountable

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01) voted for a resolution that calls on federal officials to quickly investigate and document all credible reports of hate crimes, incidents and threats against the Asian-American community and prosecute perpetrators.

“As we address COVID-19, it’s important that all our communities feel safe and secure, the anti-Asian rhetoric coming from Republican officials and the White House has resulted in the harassment and assault of innocent people and their businesses. It’s clear that the Administration is looking for a scapegoat for their failure to address this crisis. That’s why today we’re calling for accountability so that those who commit hate crimes against our Asian American community are held responsible,” said Congresswoman Deb Haaland. 

Earlier this year, Haaland met with the Asian American community to discuss recent acts of violence against their business in Albuquerque and work on solutions to prevent violence. She also used her leadership position to challenge the use of negative rhetoric against Asian Americans on the national level as the Trump Administration and Republican officials continued to use racially charged language to describe the virus.