Gary Lin, a Chinese-American business owner in New York City, has been working through the coronavirus crisis to keep his ramen restaurant afloat. He is worried about getting sick and bringing the virus to his family, but has remained partially open for takeout services as rent and bills pile up.
This report is part of “Pandemic – A Nation Divided,” ABC News' special coverage of the heightened racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Tune into"Nightline" for a three-day series starting tonight, 12 a.m. ET on ABC. And in March, the FBI warned of a spike in hate crimes against Asian Americans, saying in a report that they made the assessment “based on the assumption that a portion of the U.S. public will associate COVID-19 with China and Asian American populations.”
Story continuesAsians represented nearly 13% of New York state's claims in that week despite being 9% of the state's population, according to the Census. As the pandemic raged on, Asian Americans consistently saw the highest percentage increases for New York’s jobless claims each week by large margins. According to New York state’s most recent data from the week ending May 9. Asian American unemployment filings were up 4,150% compared to the same week last year . This was followed by claims from Latino/Hispanic workers , black workers and white workers .
Trump's rhetoric has been echoed by other administration officials and politicians -- from local leaders to House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, of California. Thomas Yu, the CEO of Asian Americans for Equality -- a nonprofit based in NYC that Lin and Peng reached out to for assistance in obtaining economic relief -- said that Asian American business owners are facing a “double whammy” amid the rising “xenophobia.”
“When President Trump continues to label this an Asian disease, it impacts the policy makers, it impacts the implementers, it impacts everyday dealings with folks,” Perry added. “You’ll see in a heartbeat folks who work diligently, who do everything they’re asked to do when it comes to achieving the American dream, who are American, be let go in a heartbeat.”
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