Officials talk on the phone in front of Gold Spa after a shooting on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Atlanta. Shootings at two massage parlors in Atlanta and one in the suburbs left multiple people dead, many of them women of Asian descent, authorities said. A 21-year-old man suspected in the shootings was taken into custody in southwest Georgia hours later after a manhunt, police said.

Officials talk on the phone in front of Gold Spa after a shooting on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Atlanta. Shootings at two massage parlors in Atlanta and one in the suburbs left multiple people dead, many of them women of Asian descent, authorities said. A 21-year-old man suspected in the shootings was taken into custody in southwest Georgia hours later after a manhunt, police said.

Credit: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

Wednesday on Political Rewind: A shocking string of violence in metro Atlanta raises questions of racial hatred and bigotry.

Nationwide, civil rights organizations reported an uptick in violence towards Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities in recent times. How does Tuesday night's violence fit into this concerning trend?

Also, President Joe Biden faces a crisis at the country’s southern border less than 2 months into his presidency. Illegal crossings at the border have skyrocketed, with more than 100,000 detentions in February alone. 

Plus, Republican legislators advance a bill creating new avenues for lobbyists to indirectly give contributions to lawmakers. Critics say the legislation opens the door for larger injections of money in politics, while supporters describe the move as a boon to financial transparency.

Our panel discusses these stories.

Panelists:

Sam Olens — Former Georgia Attorney General

Charles Kuck — Immigration Attorney

Mariela Romero — Director of Community Empowerment, Univision

Greg Bluestein — Politics Reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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