On Wednesday, April 1, 2020, Congressman Al Green and several of his congressional colleagues sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump condemning anti-Asian discrimination and violence linked to COVID-19. Congressman Green, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chairwoman Judy Chu (CA-27), and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA- 07) released the following statement:

“The use of pejoratives – including ‘Chinese virus’ – to refer to novel coronavirus has reverberated from the White House to televisions across the globe. Physical assault and verbal harassment of Asian Americans unfairly associated with the spread of COVID-19 have been reported at alarming rates. This is why I have rallied my colleagues in Congress to call on President Trump to not only cease use of the term ‘Chi- nese virus,’ but also to denounce its use by other public officials as well as the use of any other terms associating coro- navirus with persons of Asian descent” Congressman Green stated.

The Houston Congressman and 29 of his colleagues sent a letter to President Trump condemning an- ti-Asian discrimination and violence linked to COVID-19 on Wednesday. He added, “I must thank my colleagues for working to send a clear and uniform message: This virus does not discriminate—people do. It is incumbent upon all of us to denounce hatred and bigotry in all its forms and ensure the safety and well-being of those communities that may be unfairly targeted.”

Congresswoman Judy Chu – Chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus – added, “As coronavirus has spread, so has anti-Asian bigotry. In recent weeks, there has been an alarming rise in anti-Asian hate crimes across the country, with some people even needing to be hospitalized for attacks they have sustained simply because of their race. It pains me that the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress have actually made things worse by intentionally stoking xenophobia and anger. Insisting on using terms like ‘Wuhan virus,’ as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has, or directing blame and anger at China and calling it the ‘Chinese Virus,’ as the President has, puts Asian Americans at risk. That is why health experts, including the CDC, have said that associating a disease with a region or ethnicity is dangerous. And it is why the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), which I chair, has been so vocal in speaking out against anti-Asian rhetoric and discrimination. I’m grateful to my friend Rep. Al Green for leading this important letter to the White House. We must continue to push back against this destructive xenophobia and ensure the health and safety of all Americans remains a priority during these difficult times.”

“When the President uses terms like ‘Chinese virus and ‘Wuhan virus,’ he causes tremendous trauma in these communities, spreads misinformation about this global pandemic to all of us, and distracts us from their handling of the crisis,” Congresswoman Jayapal said. “The President must not only stop using these harmful terms and tropes, he must condemn and investigate all anti-Asian American hate crimes and discrimination. Stigma is the enemy of public health and we need leaders, especially the President of the United States, to strongly condemn the increasing number of racially-motivated attacks and racist rhetoric about the Asian community.”