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The total number of hate crimes across California decreased last year, but legislators, advocates and experts warned Tuesday that hostility against racial, ethnic, sexual and gender minorities is still flourishing in the state.
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“We need allies to recognize that attacks on immigrant communities do not happen in isolation,” said Monica Madrid, a state policy advocate for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights during a hearing in the state Capitol. “Racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, anti-Asian hate, anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and xenophobia are all interconnected.”
The California Department of Justice last month released a report that showed a 3.4% decrease in reported hate crime last year compared with 2024.
In total, there were 1,955 incidents reported by law enforcement agencies across the state in 2025. Still, that number was than double 2016’s total.
“In the past, we were all on the menu one at a time,” said Assemblymember Corey Jackson, D-Perris, who serves as chair of the Select Committee on Racism, Hate, and Xenophobia, which was holding the hearing. “What is new, is we’re all on the menu at the exact same time.”
The Department of Justice report did not analyze why the incidents across the state are happening. But speakers pointed to the ease of accessing hateful information on social media platforms and changes by the Trump administration — particularly those made in the name of eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts — as certainly not helping.
“When federal enforcement retreats, state and local mechanisms become the only line of defense left, especially for our Black families,” said Jonathan Butler, first vice president for the NAACP’s California and Hawaii chapter.
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Incidents targeting Black or African American people rose to 508 in 2025, from 494 the previous year. That was the most of any group monitored in the report. Ones involving anti-Hispanic or Latino acts increased to 258 last year, from 198 in 2024.
Those numbers likely do not capture all the crimes that occurred.
Despite the seriousness of the subject, Jackson and Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, were the only members of the 11-person committee who attended the hearing.
Lowenthal said he wanted the state to help find ways to stop hate crimes from happening in the first place. He referenced a May shooting at an Islamic Center in San Diego, which left three people dead. The suspects were two teenagers.
“What can we do to stop these things so early?” he asked.
Jackson challenged the advocates at the hearing to work together, not just for the people covered in the individual groups they represent, on a bill or bills next year that would help make sure all Californians are protected.
“The data is clear,” he said. “This ain’t going to stop anytime soon. The only thing that’s going to change it is how we respond to it.”
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