United States President Joe Biden signed anti-hate crime legislation on Thursday directing federal law enforcement to address a rise in violent attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during the coronavirus pandemic.

“There are simple core values and beliefs that should bring us together as Americans. One of them is standing together against hate, against racism,” Biden said at a White House ceremony attended by Democratic legislators and administration officials.

The measure had passed both chambers of Congress by large majority votes.  It was approved 94-1 in the Senate and 364-62 in the House of Representatives. The new law directs the US Department of Justice to focus on the prosecution of violent crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

In the past year, the US police have seen a surge in racially motivated crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders including a shooting in March in Georgia that killed six women of Asian descent.

The legislation signed on Thursday by Biden also includes the Jabara-Heyer “NO HATE” Act, which seeks to improve law enforcement reporting of hate crimes and expands community assistance and resources for victims of such crimes.

The Act is named after Khalid Jabara, a Lebanese American who was killed by a racist neighbour in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2016, and Heather Heyer, who died in a vehicle attack during a march by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. Both attacks were initially not categorised as hate crimes but would be under the new law.