A new report from Stop AAPI Hate revealed that most Asian American and Pacific Islander adults don’t believe the Trump administration will improve racial and economic issues. Many believe that anti-Asian hate will increase.
The report includes data from a survey of AAPI adults conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago between Jan 7 – 15, 2025. The survey found that only 1 in 10 AAPI adults believe that racial and economic challenges will improve under the Trump administration.
Manjusha P. Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate said that many AAPI communities are afraid.
“What I’ve heard from folks is the fear is at much higher levels and their fears of so many different things,” Kulkarni said in an interview with AsAmNews.
The new report addresses some of the issues AAPI communities are concerned about under the Trump administration. A majority (53%) of AAPI adults believe anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents will increase. Another 62% believe there will be an increase in hostility towards immigrants.
The report also included examples of acts of hate reported to Stop AAPI Hate since January 1, 2025.
“A [person] called me ‘illegal’ and said he would call ICE. He then pulled out his phone and looked for the ICE phone number, even though I was born in America. He then threatened me with a knife and violently pushed me and said ‘go back where you came from,’” a young Southeast Asian American boy told Stop AAPI Hate.
Spreading fear, Kulkarni said, is one of the Trump administration’s tactics.
“They want to make our communities afraid, and they want, they want to push us to seclude ourselves and in some of the worst cases, to leave the United States ourselves, because they will make conditions so horrible,” she said.
Half of the battle is also raising awareness. Respondents expressed concern about broader issues under the Trump administration, but also admitted they were unfamiliar with specific policies that could impact their communities. A majority said they were unfamiliar with land ban legislation, visa limitations, elimination of federal funding for DEI programs, and targeted deportations based on nationality.
“One of the things we do is we empower them with knowledge about their rights,” Kulkarni said.
Despite fear and concern, AAPI adults surveyed by NORC said they were ready to do something. Nearly two-thirds (65%) said they were likely or extremely likely to “mobilize around policies to combat hate and discrimination in 2025.”
“We have to use all of the tools in our tool belt to fight what is authoritarian fascism, and it’s here. It’s right now,” Kulkarni said.
