October 14, 2026

62% of anti-Asian hate acts reported to Stop AAPI Hate include anti-immigrant language mirroring Trump administration’s continued attacks on immigrants of color

NATIONWIDE — The proportion of anti-Asian hate acts that include anti-immigrant hostility has increased dramatically in the last 3 years, rising from 42% in 2023 before Trump ramped up his presidential campaign to 62% in the first half of 2026, according to a new report released today by Stop AAPI Hate.

The report, “License to Hate: Anti-Asian Racism in an Era of Anti-Immigrant Politics”, analyzes hate act reports submitted to the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2026 and finds that offenders of anti-Asian hate acts are increasingly using language that mirrors the xenophobic political rhetoric and policies of the current Trump administration, including threats of deportation.

“Hate thrives when leaders give it permission to – and the Trump administration is essentially giving people license to hate on Asians as it relentlessly attacks immigrants of color,” said Cynthia Choi, Co-Founder of Stop AAPI Hate and Co-Executive Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action. “Our research makes clear that Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda is emboldening people to commit acts of anti-Asian racism. From threats of physical harm to threats to call ICE, we are increasingly seeing offenders of anti-Asian hate acts parrot Trump and his political allies’ xenophobic rhetoric and policies to intimidate, harm, and enact violence against Asian people, including U.S. citizens.”

Of the anti-Asian hate acts that involve anti-immigrant hostility, the share of acts including threats of a physical attack or actual physical harm rose from 13% in 2023 to 27% in the first half of 2026. Additionally, offenders of anti-Asian hate acts are increasingly invoking state power, such as threatening to call ICE or demanding proof of immigration status. In fact, among hate acts with anti-immigrant hostility, the share including immigration status policing rose from 3% to 13% in the same time period. 

The new report identifies three rising anti-immigrant narratives in anti-Asian hate acts:

• Exclusion: Casting Asian people as outsiders who do not belong based on their race, ethnicity, religion, country of origin, or perceived foreignness
  • An Indian man in the Eastern U.S. reported a hate act he experienced in 2026: “A person asked me to apologize for coming here […] He kept shouting and in the end asked me to leave the country and never come back or he would break my glasses and nose.”
  • A Chinese woman in New York reported a hate act she experienced in 2024: “While walking to the train station, a man leaned towards my face and said, ‘I can’t wait until Trump gets reelected so you all can go back to where you came from.’”
  • A Thai woman in California reported a hate act she experienced in 2024: “I was pepper sprayed in my face at work. I was called ‘Asian b-tch’ and told to ‘go back to your country.’”
• Societal threat: Framing Asian people as dangers to the nation, economy, or social order
  • A Chinese woman in California reported a hate act her partner experienced in 2024: “One of [my girlfriend’s] co-workers started saying that […] it’s Chinese people’s fault for the housing crisis and that illegal immigrants are taking up most of the benefits.”
  • A Chinese man in Hawai’i reported a hate act he experienced in 2025: “While flying a recreational drone, I was forcibly stopped and detained for 20 minutes by two men who claimed to be military personnel but refused to show ID […] They blocked my vehicle, verbally harassed me, and repeatedly called me a ‘f-cking Chinese spy’.”
• Immigration status policing: Subjecting Asian people to immigration-related scrutiny
  • An Indian woman in Georgia reported a hate act she experienced in 2025: “A lady yell[ed] at us, screaming, ‘You’re murderers, you’re dirty murderers and rapists. I’m going to call ICE on your dirty a–es so you get deported back to India.”
  • A Chinese woman in California reported a hate act she experienced in 2026: “A car accelerated toward me at a pedestrian crossing, forcing me to step back to avoid being hit. He then confronted me while I called 911, saying, ‘Show me your green card. You are an illegal immigrant,’ and tried to grab my phone.”

The exclusion narrative is the most common, showing up in 87% of hate act reports with anti-immigrant hostility submitted to Stop AAPI Hate. Meanwhile, the societal threat and immigration status policing narratives are increasingly appearing in hate acts with anti-immigrant hostility.

“Political rhetoric, policies, and hate acts don’t operate separately – they reinforce one another, forming a trifecta of anti-Asian hate that normalizes exclusion based on race, stretches the limits of what people consider acceptable discrimination, and turns harmful political messages into real-world harm against Asian people.” said Manjusha Kulkarni, Co-Founder of Stop AAPI Hate and Executive Director of AAPI Equity Alliance. “About 65% of the Asian population in the U.S. are immigrants, the highest share of any major racial group. So if we want to defend our safety, our rights, and our ability to call this country home, we have no option but to challenge the rhetoric, policies, and systems that make this type of hate possible.”

Read the full report here for more data, insights, and first-hand accounts of anti-Asian hate acts.