NEW YORK—The Philippine Consulate General in New York has reported a significant reduction in hate crimes targeting Asian and Filipino immigrants in the state.
According to Philippines News Agency, while hate crimes persist, those specifically targeting Asian immigrants have notably decreased.
Mangalile emphasized during a briefing with Filipino journalists at the Philippine Center in Manhattan that the prevalence of Asian hate crimes in New York has diminished. He attributed the initial rise in these crimes to pandemic-induced stereotypes but noted that such incidents are no longer occurring, urging continued vigilance and personal safety precautions among the community.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020 and concluded in 2023, incited rhetoric that unfairly blamed Asian immigrants for the spread of the virus in the United States, leading to a surge in racially motivated attacks. A 2021 study by Stop Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Hate highlighted that Filipinos were the third most targeted Asian group for hate incidents in the U.S., following Chinese and Koreans.
Official statistics from the 2023 US Commission on Civil Rights report indicated that assaults formally classified as Asian hate crimes in New York state escalated from 31 incidents in 2020 to 140 in 2021, with 131 of these occurring in New York City alone.
Filipino caregiver Belinda Thomas, a Manhattan resident for 16 years, corroborated the consulate's observations, noting her personal experience of safety in the city. Similarly, Marivir Montebon, a Filipino journalist based in Queens, reported a lack of recent hate crime incidents against Asians in the last few months, though she remains cautious due to the general prevalence of hate crimes in the area.