Joe Biden seeks racial equity for Asian-Americans in wake of Donald Trump’s anti-China talk
- The US president signed four executive orders, including one that gives the Justice Department more resources to track hate crimes against Asian-Americans
- Other orders look to expand fair housing rules, limit use of private prisons and strengthen tribal sovereignty
US President Joe Biden took action on Tuesday to disavow another aspect of his predecessor’s legacy – racial animus toward Asian-Americans, which rose sharply during a pandemic that President Donald Trump blamed on “the China virus”.
Biden’s executive order, one of four addressing racial equity that he signed at the White House, will provide the Justice Department with additional guidance and resources to more accurately track hate crimes and harassment of Asian-Americans, according to a senior administration official.
The directive will also spur federal agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services to examine whether there are xenophobic references in policies, memorandums or public guidelines from the Trump administration and, if found, to remove them.
Additionally, Biden will charge HHS with developing language and cultural guidance related to Covid-19, assuring that vaccine and health information from the federal government is available in more languages.
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Another executive order will reinstate and expand a fair-housing regulation from 2015 that Trump repealed last year. Biden also signed a statement recommitting the government to respecting tribal sovereignty and strengthening the relationship between the United States and Tribal Nations.
The fourth order will begin to end the Justice Department’s use of private prisons, which have been widely blamed for exacerbating the disproportionate incarceration of people of colour.