Cecillia Wang

Just like tens of millions of people sheltering in place in the U.S., I’m adjusting to the new realities and worries of day-to-day life during the COVID-19 pandemic. But on top of worrying about my elderly family members, U.S. hospitals’ shortage of basic medical equipment, or where I can find toilet paper and eggs, I have another fear. Like other Americans of East Asian descent (including citizens and non-citizens), I worry that I might be attacked on the street or in a store because of my race. There are so many news reports that spur my concerns. For example, on March 14, a man in Midland, Texas, attacked an Asian American family shopping at a Sam’s Club store, stabbing three members of the family, including a two-year-old and a six-year-old child, as well as an employee. The attacker said that he targeted the family because he believed, based on the family’s race, that they were spreading the COVID-19 virus. The FBI categorized the attack as a hate crime, and more generally warned of a potential surge in bias-based attacks on Asian Americans.

In the past month, the Department of Justice has issued a series of stunningly senseless, wasteful, and cruel immigration policies