President Biden is expected to use its executive authority this week to deny racism and xenophobia towards Asian Americans, specifically targeting anti-Asian animus connected to Covid-19 pandemic. This action is expected on Tuesday, several people familiar with the plan told CBS News.
The directives, which can take the form of an executive order or a presidential memorandum, are expected to be part of a package of executive actions focused on “equity”, according to two people familiar with the plans. Other administrative actions are expected to focus on tribal governments, fair housing and private prisons. The Biden administration has told external groups that it is also preparing voting rights measures.
According to a draft schedule of imminent executive actions distributed to external advocacy groups and viewed by CBS News, the administration plans to take action on climate on Wednesday, health care on Thursday and immigration on Friday.
The Biden transition team and the White House Internal Policy Council have been preparing executive actions for Asian Americans and the Pacific Islands for weeks and discussed the principles of the presidential order with several foreign groups, three of the councilors said.
The projects of the future executive order contained a mixture of both symbolic and real government action. Some of the elements discussed are likely not to enter the final text of the executive order, according to the people involved in the discussions with the White House.
The Biden directives are expected to include guidance to the Department of Justice to instruct them to help more accurately collect data and report hate incidents and harassment of Asian Americans. There have been more than 2,600 self-reported hate incidents, ranging from racial insults to physical violence, including acid and knife attacks, according to the advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
The Biden Executive Order is also expected to direct federal agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to examine whether there are xenophobic references such as the “China Virus” in existing government policies, directives, or published websites. by the Trump administration.
A CBS News review of the Trump administration’s COVID-19 executive orders found no specific reference to the “China virus,” a term the former president often used to blame the Chinese government for the pandemic. But if the term is found in existing policies, it is expected that future enforcement action will order its elimination.
Advocacy groups call on the Biden administration to include additional elements that can be acted upon, such as guiding the Attorney General to investigate and initiate civil actions on anti-AAPI hatred.
During President George W. Bush’s administration, the Justice Department gave priority to prosecuting biased crime against Muslims, Sikhs, and people of Arab and South Asian descent. But even if President Biden’s order is largely symbolic, many consider it a critical step away from some of the racial language used by the Trump administration. President Trump has repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as the “China Virus” and the “Kung Flu,” which critics called inflammatory.
The new order is also expected to ensure HHS develops a language and cultural training course related to COVID-19, including ensuring that vaccine and health information from the federal government is available in multiple languages, according to one counselor. external. Broader language guidelines on stereotypes and myths such as “model minority” or “perpetual alien” were also discussed as addressed in the White House guidance.
Cynthia Choi, executive director of the Stop AAPI Hate group, said: “The idea that the president of the United States will not be hostile and will not be a super spreader of hatred is incredible. I hope this order reverses the damage done under the Trump administration, which used dollars and federal resources to create a hostile climate and led to reactions to our community. ”
In additional executive actions based on “equity”, the White House Biden is also expected to announce a directive to the Department of Housing and Urban Development to promote equity in housing. The order is expected to reverse the Trump administration’s decision to remove a regulation designed to promote fair housing.
The move is not unexpected, as President Biden has campaigned for a promise to reverse the Trump administration’s position.
A source familiar with the action tells CBS News that it expects the announcement to “exceed” the 2015 fair housing affirmative action rule (AFFH), which sought to hold states and communities accountable under the Fair Housing Act.
The Trump administration revoked the AFFH rule in 2020, calling it a regulatory burden.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Ed O’Keefe, Sara Cook, Adam Brewster and Caitlin Huey-Burns contributed to this report.