Nationally Recognized Universities Endorse Espaillat's Legislation Combating Hate Crimes on College Campuses

WASHINGTON, DC - Earlier this Congress, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) introduced the Combating Hate Across Campus Act (H.R. 7998) which would strengthen requirements for college campuses to independently track, record, and report information on hate crimes to the Department of Education.

Additionally, in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Espaillat urged federal agencies to release timely crime data and increase efforts to protect students and faculty following a spike in anti-religious targeted hate crimes on U.S. college campuses.

Rep. Espaillat has received growing endorsements including from Yeshiva University, Columbia University, Bronx Community College, and the CUNY Network for College Success.

"There has been a surge in targeted hate crimes on colleges campus, and particularly considering the ongoing war in the Middle East, we have seen an increase in Islamophobic and antisemitic hate crimes on college campuses," said Espaillat. "I introduced my bill, the Combating Hate Across Campus Act (H.R. 7998), in direct response to require college campuses to independently track, record, and report disaggregated information on the victims of hate crimes to the Department of Education and commend the leading universities that have issued their strong endorsements of the bill.

"Hate crimes affect entire communities, and through their respective endorsements, Yeshiva University, Columbia University, Bronx Community College, and the CUNY Network for College Success are reaffirming their efforts to keep students and faculty safe, reassure parents, and combat hate and related targeted crimes on their campuses," he concluded.

In addition to the Combating Hate Across Campus Act, click here to read Rep.Espaillat's letter urging federal agencies to combat hate on college campuses in its entirety.

# # #

Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his fourth term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government's vital activities and serves as Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the committee during the 118th Congress. He is also a member of the House Budget Committee and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Deputy Chair as well as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). Rep. Espaillat is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.

Media inquiries: Candace Person at [email protected]