THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                           (Atlanta, Georgia)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                     April 14, 2000

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

Today I signed legislation designating the United States Post Office located at 14701 Peyton Drive in Chino Hills, California as the "Joseph Ileto Post Office." Joseph Ileto was a Filipino American postal worker who was tragically murdered last year in a crime of hate. He was a dedicated public servant, killed simply because he was an Asian American who worked for his country's government. It is a fitting tribute to the life and memory of Mr. Ileto that we name this post office in his honor.

During the last year, we have all been shaken by violent acts like the murder of Joseph Ileto, acts that strike at the very values that define us as a nation. Now is the time for us to take strong and decisive action to fight hate crimes, and I call on Congress, at long last, to pass strong hate crimes legislation. It is time for us all to raise our voices against intolerance and to build the One America that our hearts tell us we can be.

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