Slaying of Minneapolis mother prompts Asian Americans to join anti-ICE protests

NBC

Asian Americans in Sacramento, CA. joined anti-ICE protests last weekend.

In the aftermath of the fatal shooting of 37-year-old poet and legal observer Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent on January 7, 2026, Asian Americans in Minneapolis and beyond are rising up with a clear message: the Donald Trump's regime's "reign of terror" must end.

In Minneapolis, Southeast Asian refugee communities have responded to the January 7, 2026, shooting of Renee Nicole Good with profound grief and organized resistance, viewing the federal crackdown as a return to the trauma of the war-torn lands they fled.

Prominent Vietnamese American poet and activist Bao Phi, a refugee himself, has been a leading voice at rallies. He describes the current atmosphere as a "trauma response," stating, "You see the pattern of both injustice and... callousness that is an echo of things that have happened to many different communities, including ours before."

The City of Minneapolis, which is home to one of the largest Hmong American communities, released safety guidance and updates on the shooting in multiple languages, including Hmong, to ensure these communities are informed as they navigate the heavy federal presence.

Southeast Asian residents have joined tens of thousands of others in marches through south Minneapolis, calling for "ICE out now". Advocacy groups like OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates have explicitly condemned the shooting as "government-sanctioned murder" and likened federal tactics to the "Tiananmen Square Massacre."

Columnists and community members have highlighted the "human cost" of current enforcement, noting that hundreds of Southeast Asians were deported from Minnesota in the year prior, adding to the fear triggered by the shooting. They frame the defense of their neighbors as a moral necessity for a community built on migration.

From the streets of south Minneapolis to solidarity vigils in Los Angeles, Asian American activists are linking this tragedy to a long history of state violence and the specific trauma of refugee communities.

In Rochester, NY, members of the Bhutanese community joined local rallies to show solidarity with Minneapolis, highlighting how the fear of federal enforcement has resonated across the refugee diaspora.

Who was Renee Good?

Here is how the community is responding:

National organizations like Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta and various Filipino American groups in Los Angeles have condemned the shooting as a "profound abuse of power". In a shared statement, community leaders declared, "No one should lose their life at the hands of a violent and dehumanizing system... We stand firmly against ICE and all forms of state violence."

“Any loss of life involving those entrusted to uphold the law is very troubling,” stated the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), the largest national affiliation of Filipino American institutions and umbrella organizations, said in a statement. “We believe that violence of this nature can affect any community and threatens the safety of us all.”

On social media, groups like Stop AAPI Hate have reminded followers that constitutional rights apply to everyone, regardless of status. They urged the community to "Report ICE sightings" and "Protect one another," framing the defense of immigrant neighbors as a moral necessity for a community built on migration.

Local residents have expressed visceral disgust at attempts by federal officials to label Good a "domestic terrorist". One Southeast Asian American resident in Minneapolis shared on social media that overhearing any dismissive talk regarding the victim felt "dehumanizing," especially given the recent escalation where federal agents reportedly used chemical weapons near local high schools.

The shooting has forged a unified front in Minneapolis, where tens of thousands have marched to demand that federal agents leave the city. As Bao Phi put it, the community is standing together across lines of race and faith to ensure Renee Good’s name becomes a catalyst for real change.

Speaking at a rally, Phi observed that "history has a way of repeating itself," noting that the same neighborhoods that once offered safety to refugees are now awash in fear because of the overwhelming federal presence.

“This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities and Minnesota, and it must stop,” said State Attorney General Keith Ellison as he announced Monday the state's lawsuit against the Trump regime. “These poorly trained, aggressive and armed agents of the federal state have terrorised Minnesota with widespread unlawful conduct.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

in 2026: Will the Supreme Court rule against birthright citizenship?

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA ILLUSTRATION

If you thought 2025 was crazy, 2026 will not offer any relief for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

As the radical conservative US Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments the question of brithright citizeshp (iTrump v. Barbara) by summer 2026, the potential end of birthright citizenship isn't just a legal debate; it's an existential threat to the Asian American community—the very community that fought for and won this right over a century ago.

This new attack on birthright citizenship repeats our country’s history of targeting and excluding Asians,” said Bethany Li, executive director of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund,“We already won this fight more than a century ago. But no matter the gains, unfortunately being Asian in America means constantly having to fight for our right to be here. Asian Americans are coming together once again to defend our right to citizenship and to call this country home."

        READ the full AALDEF amicus brief here

For those of us keeping watch from the edge, the current assault on birthright citizenship isn't just another headline—it’s a direct hit on a legacy our community fought to build. In 2026, the battle over Executive Order 14160 has reached the Supreme Court, and for Asian Americans, the stakes feel like a dangerous echo of the past.

”The administration’s push rests on a narrow, radical rewrite of the 14th Amendment. They’re zeroing in on the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," claiming it requires political allegiance that temporary visa holders or undocumented parents supposedly don’t have, says Li.

Behind the legal jargon is a clear political goal: to end what they call "birth tourism" and strip automatic citizenship from children born to those without "lawful permanent" status. While lower courts initially blocked the order, a 2025 Supreme Court ruling against nationwide injunctions has left us with a confusing "patchwork" of rights across different states.

If the Court tosses out the 14th Amendment’s "bedrock" principle, the children of US citizens and immigrants, even those with the proper documents, will be vulnerable. 

Here is who stands to lose:

Children of Legal visa holders

While much of the political rhetoric targets undocumented immigrants, Trump''s 2025 executive order explicitly targets legal immigrants on temporary visas.

H-1B and F-1 Families: Asian Americans dominate high-skill work and student visa categories. Under current proposals, children born to parents on H-1B (work) or F-1 (student) visas would no longer be recognized as US citizens at birth.

A "Stateless" Generation: For many Indian and Chinese families facing decades-long green card backlogs, their US-born children could become "stateless"—lacking citizenship in the only home they’ve ever known while potentially ineligible for their parents' home-country citizenship.

        RELATED: A look back on 2025, the year racism became normalized

Future Political Power: Asian American advocacy groups like Stop AAPI Hate warn that ending birthright citizenship is a direct attack on the future political power of our community.

Second-Class Status: Without citizenship, these children would be denied the right to vote, run for office, or serve on juries.

Access Denied: These newborns could be blocked from essential lifelines, including Medicaid, SNAP, and WIC, creating a permanent "underclass" within the AAPI community.

Think you're safe because you're already a citizen? Think again.

If birth certificates are no longer enough to prove citizenship, every parent—regardless of status—will face new, expensive hurdles to prove their child belongs.

We’ve seen this movie before. Any system that questions citizenship at birth invites racial profiling against those perceived as "perpetual foreigners."

What’s powering the DOJ's challenge?

For the AANHPI community, this isn't a new fight; it's a hundred-year-old wound that's been ripped oopen again.

We must remember Wong Kim Ark, the son of Chinese immigrants who, in 1898, took his case all the way to the Supreme Court and won birthright citizenship for all. Today, organizations like AALDEF, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the Asian Law Caucus are back in the trenches, filing amicus curie and joining lawsuits to ensure that this historically radicaly SCOTUS doesn't erase over 150 years of progress.

y empowering government officials to question people’s citizenship status, the order opens the door to discriminatory and arbitrary government interference in people’s daily lives, opines the Brennan Center for Justice. "This problem won’t just be limited to the children denied citizenship under the order: Under the new legal regime the order would create, everyone would be vulnerable to having their citizenship questioned."

The 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause grants birthright citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof," establishing that nearly anyone born on US soil, regardless of parents' status (even undocumented immigrants), automatically becomes a citizen, a principle reaffirmed by Supreme Court cases like United States v. Wong Kim Ark. 

This amendment was crucial for giving citizenship to formerly enslaved people after the Civil War, overturning the Dred Scott decision, and ensures equal protection under the law, though limited exceptions exist for children of diplomats or enemy forces

The administration’s push rests on a narrow, radical rewrite of the 14th Amendment. They’re zeroing in on the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," claiming it requires political allegiance that temporary visa holders or undocumented parents supposedly don’t have.

Behind the legal jargon is a clear political goal: to end what they call "birth tourism" and strip automatic citizenship from children born to those without "lawful permanent" status. While lower courts initially blocked the order, a 2025 Supreme Court ruling against nationwide injunctions has left us with a confusing "patchwork" of rights across different states.

In plain, everyday language, the push to end birthright citizenship is just another battlefront in the Trump administration's overall to  fight the myth of "white displacement" by keeping Whites in the majority that carries with it, power and privilege.

A host of legal scholars and civil rights groups, including the ACLU and several states, believe the Court will likely strike down the executive order. Today, organizations like AALDEF, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the Asian Law Caucus are back in the trenches, filing amicus curie and lawsuits to ensure that SCOTUS doesn't erase over 150 years of progress.

I hope they're right but I'm not holding my breath. This radical activist Supreme Court with its six conservative Justices led by Chief Justice John Roberts has astounded legal experts by showing that they are not against overruling precedents in order to "legalize" the far-right agenda of Donald Trump.

Critics of the Supreme Court argue it's increasingly politicized, too conservative, lacks transparency, suffers from legitimacy issues due to ethics concerns, and oversteps its bounds, leading to a perception that law is just "politics by other means" and undermining its role as an impartial arbiter, with concerns about judicial overreach, lack of accountability, and profound disagreement on key issues like abortion and presidential power.

As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noted, the decision “will disproportionately impact the poor, the uneducated, and the unpopular—i.e., those who may not have the wherewithal to lawyer up and will all too often find themselves beholden to the Executive’s whims.”

SCOTUS will hear arguments in the Spring and a  ruling is expected by the summer of 2026 will decide if America remains a place where, as one advocate put it, "no matter where you come from ... within a generation you belong."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Year ender: 2025 is the year racism became 'normalized'

ANALYSIS

One of the most unsettling outcomes of Donald Trump's second term is the normalization of racism. 

In less than a year of Donald Trump, the American political landscape has shifted dramatically, and for many in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities, the "view from the edge" is one of increasing alarm. The start of Donald Trump’s second term has brought a resurgence of overt racial tension, merging old tropes with new federal mandates that threaten decades of civil rights progress.

Trump's Cabinet applauded him this week after he described Somali immigrants as "garbage" who "contribute nothing." He unapologetically condemned an entire community, with no fear of political backlash.

Societal guardrails against racist, xenophobic or dehumanizing rhetoric have all but vanished on the American right. What was once disqualifying — or the exclusive domain of online trolls — is now a fixture of national political discourse, write Axios' Zachary Basu and Russell Contreras.

Rise of White radicalism

Before Trump came on the scene in 2015, it was common in modern American politics for elected or appointed officials to face consequences for making racist or bigoted comments.

In 2002, GOP Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott stepped down from leadership after praising Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential campaign.

Even during Trump's first term, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) was censured and removed from committees for questioning why terms such as "white nationalist" and "white supremacist" had become offensive.

But Trump's blatant racism doesn't appear to affect his MAGA base and conservative-leaning voters.  Public outrage over his caustic language growing more muted year as the public reaction and media see his racist statements as simply:  "Trump being Trump."

        RELATED: Trump's preference for white immigrants

Trump vaulted into political prominence by promoting the racist conspiracy theory that President Obama wasn't born in the U.S. — a playbook he revived in 2024 against other rivals of color.

His 2016 campaign-opening claim that Mexico was sending "rapists" into the U.S. triggered weeks of national uproar, as did his leaked complaint in 2018 about immigration from "shithole countries." Trump being Trump.

Then came the 2024 election campaign, which blew open the Overton window on race and identity.

Trump discarded any lingering restraint, declaring that unauthorized immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country" (language taken directly from Hitler speeches), and amplifying false claims that Haitian migrants in Ohio were eating pets.

. Photo by Shutterstock, Jason Leung/Unsplash

Conservatives mobilized around backlash to the 2020 racial justice movement, the Biden administration's immigration policies and perceived censorship of political speech by the left.

Trump's MAGA movement treated his 2024 win as a sweeping cultural mandate (though the close vote was not a mandate) — and grew more explicit in its mission to "defend Western civilization," which in the view of his followers, that message means "white" civilization.

Nearly a year into Trump's second term, language that once led to denials, clarifications or resignations now circulates freely online and at the highest levels of government.

Dismantling equity

It isn't just about rhetoric; the machinery of the federal government is being rewired.

• The War on DEI: Following through on campaign promises and the Project 2025 blueprint, the administration has moved to purge Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs from the federal workforce, characterizing them as "anti-white racism".

• The Retreat from Civil Rights: Key appointments, such as Harit Dylan as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, signal a pivot away from traditional oversight. Federal investigations into racial discrimination in schools have largely stalled as the Department of Education shifts focus toward "merit-based" opportunity.

• GOP members of Congress reacted to New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's election by posting images of the 9/11 attacks and calling for the Ugandan-born Democrat to be denaturalized and deported.

• DHS and White House social media accounts now routinely mock immigrants targeted for deportation, deploying trollish memes on official channels.

• White nationalist Nick Fuentes has edged into the mainstream, with Trump defending the Holocaust denier's interview with Tucker Carlson as legitimate political dialogue.

• A February 2025 report from Stop AAPI Hate documented a 59% spike in online threats and a 66% rise in anti-Asian slurs in the months following the vote.

• The administration’s continued use of xenophobic rhetoric has been linked to a rise in offline harassment, reminding many of the historical scapegoating that led to the darkest chapters of AAPI history.

• Beyond the AAPI community, Black and Latino Americans across 25 states reported receiving disturbing, anonymous text messages referencing "plantations," a wave of digital violence that civil rights groups say characterizes the current era's normalization of bigotry.

In a Thanksgiving post on his Truth Social, in an outright falsehood, Trump claimed that "most" of America's 53 million foreign-born residents are "on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels." Reaction? Trump being Trump.

Fighting racism can be wearying.

He blasted Americans who have been "politically correct" on immigration, labeled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz "seriously retarded," and mocked Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as "always wrapped in her swaddling hijab." Reaction? Trump being Trump.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Axios in a statement: "It's not racist to want secure borders and to deport illegal aliens who are undermining our sovereignty and destroying our country. Trump has never been politically correct, never holds back, and in large part, the American people re-elected him for his transparency."

        RELATED: Asian Americans demonstrate against Trump

Immigrant and civil-rights advocates say the president's incendiary rhetoric on race has manifested in policies that strengthens the historical privilege of White people.

After slashing the US refugee cap to a historic low of 7,500, the Trump administration said it would prioritize White South Africans for nearly all available slots and appealed fro more immigration from predominantly White Scandinavian countries.

The administration has gutted major pillars of America's civil rights protections and racial equity infrastructure, wiping away public data, slashing research funding, and rewriting history from a White perspective and erasing contributions of people of color in textbooks, museums and other media.

'Human rights emergency'

While some within the AANHPI community have found appeal in the administration's "America First" agenda, the broader reality in 2025 among AANHPI is one of heightened vulnerability, no matter if you are American-born or first-generation immigrants and especially those who are not yet citizens.

With the threat of mass deportations and the potential reinstatement of the "Muslim Ban," advocacy groups like the ACLU and Human Rights Watch are calling this a "human rights emergency." The fight to maintain a multiracial democracy has never felt more urgent, as those on the edge of society face an administration intent on redefining what it means to belong in America.

Racist rhetoric and policies is being baked into our institutions. It could take years to undo the damage Trump has done to the Federal government that sets the standards for that for over half century have protected the country's health, economy and education. And if you include the judicial system, recovery could take decades. 

This time of year when there is so much talk about brotherhood, peace and good will towards all, it is perhaps a good time to reflect how our Trump and his supporters have changed our country. We have to remember that just  because racism has come out of the shadows and become acceptable in some sectors of American society, that doesn't mean "normal"  is acceptable. It is not OK.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Trump's new immigration restrictions will adversely impact Asian immigrants; favor white Afrikaners

Donald Trump wants more restrictions for immigrants to the US.

The United States might as well hang a sign out that says "No people of color allowed," after Donald Trump proposed new sweeping restrictions after Thanksgiving Day.

Over the past week, following an Afghan national arrested as a suspect in the fatal shooting of National Guard soldier in Washington DC, Trump issued a flurry of social media posts further restricting immigration from "third world" countries. 

As  Trump advocated new restrictions on immigration from Asia, Africa and the MIddle East, going almost unnoticed under the barrage of his social media posts, is he wants to give white South Afrikaners priority as refugees.

Trump's recent immigration declarations will affect immigrants from Asia by heightened restrictions on family-based immigration, increased scrutiny and costs for skilled-worker visas (H-1B), and travel restrictions on certain Asian nations.

Key Declarations

 The death of one National Guard soldier and seriously injuring another blocks from the White House sparked a flurry of social media pronouncements by Trump, including:

• Trump stated he would "permanently pause" migration from "all Third World Countries". When asked for clarification, the Department of Homeland Security pointed to the 19 countries already on a June 2025 travel ban list, which includes Asian countries like Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), and Laos. Nationals from these specific countries will face full or partial entry suspensions, including stricter visa requirements and potentially indefinite delays in processing.

• The Director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has ordered a "full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern." For Asian immigrants from the targeted 19 countries, this means a likely increase in processing times, added background checks, longer security screening, or temporary holds on their applications.

• Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), often used by Afghan nationals who worked with the US military, have been paused following the incident, directly impacting a specific group of Asian immigrants seeking refuge and legal status.

Immigration from Asia is a significant part of U.S. immigration, with immigrants from India, China, and the Philippines being the largest groups, and origins spanning from historical migration to modern-day skilled and family-based immigration

Key effects on Asian immigrants include:

Family Reunification Challenges: Trump has emphasized a shift away from the current family-based immigration system towards a "merit-based" model. This will disproportionately affect many Asian immigrant communities (such as those from the Philippines, Vietnam, India, and China) that rely heavily on family-sponsored visas, which already face extensive backlogs. The new policies will likely prevent family members abroad from joining relatives already in the U.S., creating long-distance separations and significant delays.

H-1B Visa Restrictions: The administration continues to target the H-1B skilled-worker visa program, which is widely utilized by immigrants from India and China. Recent actions have included significant fee increases (e.g., to $100,000 per application for certain groups), higher wage requirements, and increased scrutiny during the application process, making it more difficult and expensive for US companies to hire and retain highly skilled Asian professionals.

Family reunification may be harder under Donald Trump's new proposals.

Travel Bans and Heightened Scrutiny: The administration has implemented full or partial entry suspensions and heightened scrutiny for nationals of several countries, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Laos. This can prevent individuals from these countries from entering the U.S. and complicate visa renewals for those already in the country.

Increased Deportation and Enforcement: The administration's push for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants also impacts Asian communities; Asian Americans constitute about 10% of the total undocumented population. There has also been an increase in the detention and deportation of Southeast Asians with existing removal orders.

Termination of Protections: The recent termination of TPS for approximately 4,000 Myanmar nationals, effective January 26, 2026, will leave these individuals vulnerable to deportation unless they can find other legal avenues to remain in the U.S.

"Ideological Screening" and Fear: Trump's declaration to block immigrants "non-compatible with Western civilization" introduces subjective criteria for entry and could lead to ideological or discriminatory screening processes. This, along with general anti-immigrant rhetoric, contributes to a climate of fear and uncertainty, potentially discouraging immigrants from accessing essential services, such as healthcare.

Even before last week's declarations fear and anxiety among Asian Americans has been on the rise.  A November 2025 poll revealed that worries about detention and deportation among Asian immigrants doubled from 14% in 2023 to 29%, a concern extending to many with lawful permanent resident (LPR) status or naturalized citizenship.

White Afrikaners 'prioritized'

Overall, these actions indicate a major shift in US immigration policy that creates significant uncertainty and fear among Asian immigrant communities, even for those with legal status.

Among these proposed policies that generally reduces immigration from "third-world" countries and has severely cut the overall US refugee admission ceiling to a record low, the Trump administration has specifically prioritized members of the white Afrikaner minority. This policy is based on Trump's claims of a "white genocide" and land seizures in South Africa,  

The Trump administration has not provided data or credible evidence to substantiate its claim of "white genocide" in South Africa. The claims have been widely fact-checked and debunked by the South African government, independent experts, human rights organizations, and even the US State Department's own reports.

South African immigrants Elon Musk, left and Peter Thiel are major Donald Trump supporters.

Critics have offered two reasons explaining the apparent emphasis on South Africa white immigrants:

1. Critics argue that the policy is a "dog whistle" appealing to white victimhood and is consistent with Trump's preference for immigrants from predominantly white countries over those from "third world" nations. Some officials suggested the preference was because they would be easier to assimilate.

2. It is payback to two billionaire supporters, both immigrants from South Africa and who have financed Trump's campaign: Elon Musk, the richest person in the world who donated millions of dollars to put Trump in the Oval Office and helped Trump drastically reduce the federal workforce in the opening months of the Trump administration; and Peter Thiel,  a venture capitalist and tech investor known for co-founding PayPal and being an early investor in Facebook. He has been a vocal supporter and advisor for Trump. Although Thiel hasn't donated directly to the Heritage Foundation, the think tank that developed Project 2025, his philanthropic foundation has been a major donor (reportedly $10 million) to the Donor's Trust, a "dark money" group that in turn has funded the Heritage Foundation.

The administration is restricting legal immigration pathways through measures like expanded travel bans targeting specific countries, increased fees for applications, and limits on H-1B and student work visas, impacting the flow of talent into the US.

In essence, experts anticipate that the wide-ranging pronouncements will lead to a smaller population and workforce, a weaker economy in the long run, and profound social and personal costs for immigrant communities and the nation as a whole.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

FBI report undercounts anti-Asian hate crimes

AAJC PHOTO

Anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels despite a slight decline from 2023, indicating a continuing crisis, says an analysis responding to the FBI's 2024 Hate Crime Statistics report. 

“Current FBI data reporting undercounts the true scope of anti-Asian hate crimes,” said Sim J. Singh Attariwala, Director of the Anti-Hate Program at Advancing Justice – AAJC. “Our report shows that these hate crimes have not significantly declined since the pandemic, and harmful rhetoric is now expanding to the scapegoating of South Asian communities.

AAJC and Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) released Nov. 20 a new report responding to the FBI’s National Hate Crime Statistics for 2024. The FBI numbers is flawed and tell only part of the story. Underreporting remains a critical challenge, with nearly half of violent hate crimes going unreported. Trust deficits, language barriers, and fear of reprisal continue to silence victims.

The report from the community legal advocates, Anti-Asian Hate in 2024: Analysis and Recommendations, contextualizes the hate crime figures, emphasizing alarming trends and the work left to combat elevated levels of anti-Asian hate. The Asian Resource Hub, a collaborative unique digital platform by the two organizations illustrating anti-Asian hate and uplifting culturally competent support, was updated to include and examine the FBI’s new data.

The report provides insight into national trends, sociopolitical drivers of hate, enduring risks for the future, and recommendations for political and community mobilization. The report found that:

• Anti-Asian hate crimes declined slightly from 2023 – but were still nearly three times higher than pre-pandemic levels. 

• Anti-Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander hate crimes were the highest since recording began in 2013. 

• California, New Jersey, New York, Washington, and Massachusetts were the states with the highest amount of anti-Asian hate crimes and had some of the highest numbers of total hate crime reports overall.  

• Anti-Asian hate, especially for Chinese and South Asian communities, was incited by political rhetoric, disinformation, and online extremism. 

While most of the country showed a slight decline in anti-Asian hate crimes, the West, which is home to vast majority of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, showed a 3% increase, according to the FBI report.

California and Washington continued to lead in reported incidents, reflecting both the size of their Asian American populations and potentially more robust reporting mechanisms.The increase in the West underscores the need for sustained investment in prevention, education, and community support, responds the AAJC analysis.

While the FBI publishes nationwide statistics, the numbers are often just a snapshot of reality. The figures are limited in disaggregation and are vulnerable to underreporting. Advancing Justice – AAJC’s report aims to provide a fuller picture of the numbers by supplementing them with information from community-based platforms and external research.

The primary criticism of undercounting in recent FBI hate crime reports (including the expected 2025 report, which would cover 2024 data) is the voluntary nature of data submission by local law enforcement agencies and past difficulties in transitioning to a new reporting system. This has led to incomplete and potentially misleading national statistics.

A large proportion of participating law enforcement agencies (often 80% or more) report zero hate crimes in their jurisdictions to give a more flattering picture of their localities.  Critics argue this is highly unlikely to be accurate, especially in areas with known extremist group activity, suggesting a failure to identify or correctly record hate crimes.

The missing data prevents a complete and accurate understanding of the extent of the hate crime problem in the U.S., which hampers prevention efforts and makes it difficult to track trends effectively. Data from independent organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) or Stop AAPI Hate often show higher numbers of incidents than the official FBI reports.

In the same vein, the Asian Resource Hub uses data from a combination of sources, including the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics, to illustrate the scope of hate and inform the direct assistance provided tailored to community members’ needs in eight languages.

"Without corrective action, hate crime statistics risk becoming more invisible as trust in government erodes and funding for anti-hate programs nationwide is cut," says Attariwala. "This report provides context and recommendations to help leaders respond effectively and protect the most marginalized.”

“This report confirms what our communities have long known; anti-Asian hate remains at alarming levels,” said June Lim, Director of the Demographic Research Project at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. “With the updated Asian Resource Hub, we’re ensuring survivors and families can access culturally competent support and information in multiple languages. Without investment in prevention and community-based reporting, anti-Asian hate crimes will continue to occur and go underreported.”

"This is not just a data report. It is a call to action. We must equip institutions to recognize and respond to hate in all its forms and build a future rooted in safety, dignity, and equality. To ensure transparency and sustained attention to this issue, concludes Attariwala.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Report: Half of Asian Americans say they[ve experienced hate in 2024

The data is clear—hate acts against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AA/PI)1 communities remained widespread and deeply harmful in 2024, amid an incredibly contentious general election.

Nation-wide data from  a report on the state of Anti-AA/PI hate  confirms that over half of AA/PI adults (53%) and almost 3 in 4 AA/PI young adults (74%) experienced a hate act last year due to their race, ethnicity, or nationality. Unprovoked hate attacks could occur anywhere: going to the grocery store, attending school, going to church or just walking down the street minding your own business.

The attacks of hate could be a physical attack or a simple, "Go back to your own country," followed by slur.

Stop AAPI Hate conducted its second annual survey to understand the scale of anti-Asian American and anti-Pacific Islander (anti-AA/PI) hate acts2 across the nation and to analyze year-over-year trends.

The report on the state of anti-AA/PI hate in 2024 entitled, “Still Under Fire: Relentless Racism against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in a Heated Election Year” summarizes key findings from this survey and shares accounts of hate acts reported to Stop AAPI Hate’s reporting center that occurred in 2024.

Together, these sources provide a comprehensive and vivid picture of hate and its impacts on Asian American and Pacific Islander communities last year. With current threats to immigrant communities and the dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts—including data collection and reporting—it is more critical than ever that we have accurate records of what is happening in our communities. 

Highlights of the report:

• About half (53%) of AA/PI adults surveyed experienced a hate act in 2024 due to their race, ethnicity, or nationality, a figure similar to the 49% who experienced a race-based hate act in 2023.

• The prevalence of hate was similarly high across gender, geographic region, income, party identification, birthplace, language, education, citizenship, and regional ethnic group.

• But there were age differences that emerged this year with 72% of young adults (18–29) experiencing hate, a higher prevalence compared to adults aged 30–44 (54%), 45–59 (46%), and 60 and over (44%).

• Harassment and institutional discrimination continued to be the most common types of hate acts experienced, with around half (48%) of AA/PI adults experiencing harassment and around a quarter (24%) experiencing institutional discrimination. '

• Of those who experienced hate acts, about half (53%) experienced hate that was intersectional, or targeting other aspects of their identities in addition to their race, ethnicity, or nationality. Gender was the highest additional identity targeted.

        FYI: Read the entire report "Sill Under Fire"

The survey of nearly 1,600 Asian American and Pacific Islander adults was conducted from January 7–15, 2025 with NORC at the University of Chicago, a nonpartisan research organization. It utilized their Amplify AAPI® Panel, the largest and most representative public opinion panel of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. It also included an oversample of Pacific Islander adults to ensure that trends and differences for these communities are visible.

The report also found that the vast majority of AA/PI adults (83%) are concerned about the nation’s current racial climate following the surge of racism and xenophobia coming out of the 2024 election season.

Signs of hope amidst growing fear

Despite these sobering statistics and the disturbing trend in 2025, the report's findings also offer a beacon of hope. Even as hate continues to wreak havoc on the mental health, personal relationships, and sense of belonging of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the majority of the adults remain optimistic about their own growing power to end racism and are motivated to get involved in justice and equity efforts.

As alarming as 2024 was, spurred by the use of racist campaign rhetoric (primarily by the Republicans), 2025 may be even worse. The year is just half over but already it may be even more contentious than the election year with Donald Trump's policies targetting legal and undocumented immigrants spill over all the communities that fall under the AAPI umbrella. Raids by aggressive Homeland Security and the border patrol agents have accused, detained and deported Asians, some of whom are in the US legally and have been Americans for decades.

The relentless xenophobia of Trump and his enablers and supporters has created a hostile environment where any spotlight on immigrants and/or their countries of origin can set off a wave of racism against Asian communities.

The majority of AA/PI adults surveyed are concerned about the racial climate (83%), optimistic about AA/PI power to end racism (82%), and motivated to get involved in justice and equity efforts – although stronger attitudes fell. Two-thirds (66%) of AA/PI adults participated in activities to reduce or resist racism in 2024.

At the same time, a majority of AA/PI adults said they anticipate worsening conditions over the next four years under the Trump administration:

• 61% expect greater hostility toward immigrant communities,
• 56% foresee rising racial tensions,
• 57% anticipate more harmful foreign policies,
• And over half (53%) expect an increase in anti-AA/PI hate crimes and hate incidents.

Even in the face of hate, many AA/PI adults plan to engage in policy action in 2025 to combat hate and racism. Nearly two-thirds (65%) say they are extremely or very likely to take action on at least one policy solution.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge. Now on BlueSky.

Love Island: Reality show contestant ousted for using anti-Asian slur

Cierra Ortega leaves reality show.

Racism is a no-no on Love Island USA, one of the most popular reality shows on television. One of the show's contestants was kicked off the show after her use of a slur against Asians became known.

Last week, Cierra Ortega was one of the favorites in the show where young, attractive people hope to find their true love. Sunday, she disappeared from the program without an explanation.

Pressure for Ortega's ouster had been building for weeks as fans condemned Ortega's earlier social media anti-Asian statements became viral. 

Last Sunday, July 6, the narrator simply said that 25-year old Ortega, a content creator, had left the show for "personal" reasons.

Ortega's posts referenced the shape of her eyes when she smiles. She described her smiling eyes in a negative by using a racist slur describing Asians' eyes.

Pushback continued to mount because another contestant was tossed out of the show earlier when she used an anti-Black slur. If the producers let Ortega continue, it would appear that the anti-Asian insult was not as severe as the anti-Black smear.

According to several polls and surveys, anti-Asian sentiment and attacks have increased significantly since the pandemic and the first Trump administration when he inflamed racists with his anti-Chinese rhetoric. Almost half of Asian American adults report experiencing anti-Asian acts, said the surveys.

To make things worse, even after one of the respsponders explained the slur's negative connotation, she repeated in another post.

Ortega has reportedly lost 200,000 followers on her socials, according to The NY Daily News and 17,000 people signed a petition to get her removed from the show.

Unlike other reality shows that may be taped months in advance, Love Island is taped almost in real time so producers could respond more quickly.

"While I was in the villa, there were some posts that resurfaced from my past where I was very naively using an incredibly offensive and derogatory term," Ortega posted on a lengthy Instagram video after she was released.

"And before I get into the details, I want to first start by addressing not just anyone that I have hurt or deeply offended, but most importantly, the entire Asian community. I am deeply, truly, honestly, so sorry. I had no idea that the word held as much pain, as much harm, and came with the history that it did, or I never would have used it. I had no ill intention when I was using it, but that’s absolutely no excuse because intent doesn’t excuse ignorance. It just doesn’t. And I just need you to know that I am so sorry, but this is not an apology video. This is an accountability video.”

She continued: “I think right now there are tons of things floating around, different screenshots with different time stamps and fueling this narrative that I sort of doubled down once people tried to correct me and was like, ‘Oh, like I don’t know, I’m still gonna use it,’ but that was not the case,” she said in the lengthy video. “The truth is that in that moment, the lesson was learned, the word was removed and it was a true learning moment for me and I think since that moment I’ve done so much growing as an individual, and I’ve tried my best to educate others who might be accidentally holding space for these types of words that could be offensive in their vocabulary.”

Ortega, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, did not push back against her departure from Love Island USA.

"I completely agree with the network's decision to remove me from the villa. I think that this is something that deserved punishment, and the punishment has absolutely been received for sure," she said.

FYI: The Love Island USA Season 7 finale will be aired on Sunday, July 13 on Peacock. The show will conclude with a final episode where the winning couple will be revealed and awarded the $100,000 prize. New episodes of Love Island USA air daily at 9 p.m. ET, except Wednesdays. The show is exclusively available on Peacock. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge. Now on BlueSky.