US Anti-Hate Crime Law Provides New Enforcement Tools, but Will It Work?

A bill that President Joe Biden signed into law Thursday gives local and federal officials new tools and resources to combat hate crimes, while putting the spotlight on a surge in anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The impetus for the new law, known as the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, was a dramatic increase in attacks on Asian Americans since the start of the pandemic in Wuhan, China, more than a year ago.  Dramatic surge   Anti-Asian hate crimes in major U.S. cities and counties spiked by about 150% last year over the year before and 194% during the first quarter of 2021 compared with the first quarter of 2020, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino.