Arab American Institute highlights growing anti-Latino attacks after FBI report

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2025 hate crime report shows a record number of attacks on Latinos amid a heightened climate of fear in immigrant communities.

While the report doesn’t show an overall increase in hate crime, the current political climate raises questions about underreporting bias incidents at a time when many people, particularly from marginialised communities, do not feel comfortable reporting crime to law enforcement.

"While the overall number of reported hate crimes declined in 2025, this data should not be mistaken for a decline in hate across our communities," said Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, in a public statement in response to the FBI report.

"The increase in anti-Latino hate crimes is particularly alarming, reaching the highest level ever recorded as the Trump Administration targets immigrant and Latino communities with bigoted rhetoric and policy," she said.

The report showed that 10,881 incidents were reported in 2025, the lowest level of hate crime reported in five years. There is a nine percent decrease compared with 2024. There have, however, been changes to reporting practices, placing potential limitations on data collection.

Berry also noted that national hate crime statistics reflect what is reported from state and local authorities, meaning that the politicisation of law enforcement could account for underreporting of bias incidents. The FBI’s report found that while hate crime incidents against Muslims and Jews had declined by over 20 percent between 2024 and 2025, incidents against Christians had increased.

"Hate crime data also reflects only what's reported to law enforcement and passed on to the FBI. Chronic underreporting, uneven participation across jurisdictions, and the politicisation of government data all limit our ability to see the full scope of hate in America," said Berry.

"We would prefer to take comfort in a decline in reported incidents but worry the loss of confidence in government institutions under this administration has become yet another barrier to accurate hate crime reporting," she said, noting that the current administration has gutted the civil rights division of the Department of Justice.

In addition, even with an official decline in hate crime, advocates note that the numbers are still significant and show that minorities remain vulnerable.

"Hate crime data is an essential tool for identifying gaps in protections and holding institutions accountable. A decline in reported incidents that still top 10,000 annually is not a reason to look away—it's an urgent call to strengthen reporting and confront the policies and policymakers that let hate flourish," said Berry.