UN Panel Criticizes Trump's Rhetoric, Immigration Policies

A United Nations watchdog has warned that "racist hate speech" used by President Donald Trump and other U.S. politicians has fueled human rights violations. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), a UN-backed panel of independent experts, urged the U.S. to respect international law and review its human rights policies.

The committee's report specifically highlighted Trump's immigration enforcement agenda, expressing grave concern over arbitrary identity checks that target refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and others perceived as such. The report did not mention specific incidents but referred to Operation Metro Surge, an immigration crackdown in Minnesota that sparked nationwide protests after two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by federal agents.

The UN report stated that the two shootings amounted to "gross violations of international human rights law." It also called on the U.S. to halt immigration operations near schools, healthcare facilities, and places of worship. The panel expressed deep concern over an increased use of racist hate speech, including derogatory and dehumanizing language that portrays migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees as criminals or a burden.

The report documented widespread concerns with measures adopted by the Trump administration to tackle migration, from the "systematic use of racial profiling" by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) staff as well as border patrol agents, to reports of "discriminatory, dangerous and violent methods" that have been linked to the deaths of at least eight people since January 2026. The panel noted a drastic increase in migrant detention, from nearly 40,000 in late 2024 to about 73,000 at the start of this year.

At least 675,000 people had been deported since Trump returned to power in January 2025. The administration also moved to strip legal status from hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were legally living in the U.S. Reports of people being held in "inhumane conditions" and receiving "inadequate medical care" were concerning, with at least 29 migrants dying in these facilities last year and six more in January this year.

The White House dismissed the report, calling it "useless" and "biased." Olivia Wales, a White House spokeswoman, noted Trump's efforts to secure the U.S. border and stated that Americans are living in a safer, stronger country than ever before. The administration has cited security and economic concerns for its crackdown on immigration.

The report is not legally binding but seeks to hold the U.S. to its international commitments under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which the U.N. adopted in 1965 and the U.S. ratified in 1994.