Biden Administration’s New Executive Orders Address COVID-19 AAPI Discrimination and Fair Census
Biden Administration’s New Executive Orders Address COVID-19 AAPI Discrimination and Fair Census:
The new Biden-Harris Administration has begun with several major achievements for the AAPI community, including the inauguration of Vice President Kamala D. Harris, the first ever Black and South Asian woman to hold the position.
President Biden signed several critical executive orders in his first week in office, including an executive order that addressed the politicization of the Census and the under-counting of immigrants and an executive order that took on the discrimination AAPI’s have faced from COVID-19.
APIAVote’s Executive Director Christine Chen weighed in on the Census Executive Order:
“President Biden’s new executive order is an important reversal of the previous Administration’s attacks on the U.S. Census. AAPI communities were under threat from the previous Administration’s attempts to intimidate immigrant populations through the Census enumeration process — but the Census remains our nation’s indispensable tool to ensure all people in the United States are counted and represented fairly, regardless of immigration status.
“As the Executive Order makes clear, the Census’ express purpose is to count all people in the United States: “…it is the policy of the United States that reapportionment shall be based on the total number of persons residing in the several States, without regard for immigration status.” A fair and accurate Census affects our communities in so many ways — from the apportionment of Congressional seats around the country to the distribution of critical resources like COVID-19 relief, support for small businesses and funding for our public schools and educators. Attacking immigrant communities through the Census process undermines our nation’s ideals, and threatens the democratic values and laws that govern us. The Biden Administration’s new Executive Order is a strong step to address the damage done last year to the Census, and it helps ensure fair apportionment and redistricting.”
Earlier this week, the Census Bureau issued new guidance on the expected timeline for completion of the decennial census. They are expecting to complete the apportionment process by April 30, 2021, and the Census Bureau’s Acting Director’s latest blog post lays out the Bureau’s work to troubleshoot some of the unique problems they’re facing during COVID-19.
Chen also weighed in on the AAPI discrimination executive order alongside other AAPI groups, saying:
“APIAVote welcomes this new memorandum as a meaningful first step to address the ongoing discrimination felt in our communities. COVID-19 and misinformation have been a toxic combination for many of us. In our 2020 Asian American Voter Survey, nearly three-quarters of respondents said they believed there is significant discrimination against Asian people in our society, while more than half worry about experiencing hate crimes, harassment and discrimination because of COVID-19. As the Biden Administration works to heal the soul of our nation, we are heartened by today’s memorandum and urge them to continue to address the discrimination that COVID-19 has unleashed on our communities.”
The executive order builds upon Congresswoman Grace Meng’s resolution to address the ongoing discrimination and harassment from COVID-19 misinformation, and our entire community owes her a debt of gratitude for her advocacy and legislative work.
