Nearly half of all Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults in California—48%—experienced hate in 2024, according to a new report from Stop AAPI Hate. The figure mirrors 2023 levels and comes amid a volatile election year marked by rising anti-immigrant rhetoric.
The report also found that most victims remained silent: 31% of those who experienced hate told no one, and 72% never reported their incident to any formal authority. The top reasons for not reporting were a belief that the incident was not serious enough (68%), that reporting would not change anything (68%), and that it would take too much time (53%).
Harassment made up the largest share of hate acts at 44%, followed by institutional discrimination at 21%. The majority of incidents occurred online (39%) or in public places (37%), with 54% of respondents saying they were targeted for more than just their race or ethnicity—experiencing intersectional hate tied to gender, religion, language, or immigration status.
The report’s release comes as AAPI communities across California face heightened federal scrutiny. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained several AAPI immigrants in recent months, and the U.S. Department of Justice has cut public safety grants to multiple AAPI-focused organizations.
Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, criticized the federal government’s approach, especially its impact on California, where 63% of Asian residents and 33% of Pacific Islanders are foreign-born.
“The Trump administration’s xenophobic mass deportation operation and attacks on education and public safety funding inflict profound harm on AA/PI Californians,” Kulkarni said. “As the federal government only continues to escalate their attacks, now is the time for California’s leaders to double down on investments to ensure the people they serve are safe from hate and violence.”
One 2024 incident cited in the report underscores the severity of anti-immigrant sentiment: an Indian woman at a playground described how a young man stared at her and asked his friend, “Hey, do you have a gun?” and then added, “Hey, do you have a bomb?”—a verbal assault based on the mistaken assumption that she was Muslim.
The report urges California to sustain and expand investments made under the 2021 Asian and Pacific Islander Equity Budget. Cynthia Choi, also a co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, said the recommendations offer a concrete roadmap to combat hate, including legislative action, support for small businesses, and renewed funding for frontline organizations.
“These are not abstract proposals,” Choi said. “They are essential to ensuring safe and inclusive environments for AA/PI communities now and in the future.”
