Page 21 - The Indian EYE 041224

NORTH AMERICAN Newsline APRIL 12, 2024 | The Indian Eye 21

Indian-American lawmakers seek briefing on

surge in crimes against Hindus in US

There are five Indian-American lawmakers in the current House of Representatives. This is one of

the rare occasions when all five have come together on an issue.

OUR BUREAU
Washington
he lawmakers — Raja Krish-
namoorthi, Ro Khanna, Shri
TThanedar, Pramila Jayapal and
Ami Bera — wrote to Kristen Clarke
of the Department of Justice’s Civil
Rights Division, asking the United
States Department of Justice and the
FBI for a briefing on a surge in “hate
crimes targeting Hindus” and vandal-
ism of temples in the country.
“Attacks at mandirs from New
York to California have contributed
to increased collective anxiety among
Hindu Americans,” they wrote.
“Leaders from these impacted com-
munities have expressed there are protection under the law,” they said. ginalized or neglected, and we must lawmakers wrote.
unfortunately ‘no leads’ on suspects, “The number of incidents and work collaboratively to combat hate “Given the urgency of the situa-
leaving many to continue to live in the closeness of the timing of inci- against all religious, ethnic, racial, tion, we ask that you provide us with
fear and intimidation. Our commu- dents raise troubling questions about and cultural minorities in America. a briefing no later than Thursday,
nities remain concerned about law linkages and the intent behind them,” We therefore request that you pro- April 18th,” they wrote in the letter
enforcement coordination regarding the letter read. vide us with an understanding of what dated March 29 which was released
these bias-motivated crimes, and they “It takes relatively few coordinat- the Department’s strategy is specifi- to the media on April 1. The move
are left wondering if there is appropri- ed acts of hate to create fear within a cally concerning hate crimes target- has been welcomed by Indian-Amer-
ate federal oversight to ensure equal community that has often been mar- ing Hindus in the United States,” the ican leaders.

www.TheIndianEYE.com