USA: People seeking safety are at risk

President Trump has announced plans to launch a mass deportation campaign targeting millions of immigrants and individuals seeking safety. These plans involve mass arrests, detention, and removals, affecting both long-standing community members and recently arrived individuals. This approach denies people the chance to seek safety, forces individuals into arbitrary detention, returns them to dangerous situations, separates families, dismantles communities, promotes racial profiling, spreads fear, and undermines security, prosperity, and human dignity. We call on President Trump to uphold the human rights of immigrants and those seeking safety by halting this mass deportation campaign.

Here’s what you can do:

Write to the President of the United States of America urging him to:

• halt all plans for a mass deportation campaign, including plans for a national emergency, raids, mass detention, and deportations without due process
• ensure people who would be at risk of serious human rights violations upon return are not deported
• uphold the human right to seek asylum 
• ensure that no one is arbitrarily detained and that deportation procedures uphold the human rights and human dignity of all
• respect the right to family unity and the rights of children
• ensure that all laws, policies, and practices of the U.S. government on asylum and migration fully respect the right to non-discrimination. 

Trump administration’s legacy and continuing challenges

Donald Trump’s first presidential term was marked by bigotry, xenophobia, white supremacist rhetoric, and serious human rights violations. His administration caused significant harm to human rights in the U.S. and globally, undermining institutions meant to ensure freedom, safety, and dignity for all.

The subsequent Biden administration continued and expanded some of Trump’s cruel immigration policies, leaving migrants and asylum seekers in increasingly precarious situations. A second Trump term must take a drastically different path, and organizations like Amnesty International will continue to advocate for the protection of human rights.

Proposed immigration policies and human rights risks

President Trump has proposed a mass deportation campaign targeting millions of immigrants and asylum seekers in the U.S. This plan includes declaring a national emergency, conducting widespread raids and racial profiling, imposing mass arbitrary detention, and carrying out deportations without due process.

Such measures would endanger millions, undermining their dignity, well-being, and fundamental human rights. With approximately 13 million undocumented immigrants and millions more living under temporary statuses, Trump’s promise to terminate these protections could devastate families and communities across the country.

International obligations and a call for change

The U.S. government is obligated under international law to ensure that its immigration policies do not increase the risk of human rights abuses. While the U.S. has the authority to regulate immigration, it must do so within the framework of its human rights commitments.

These include the right to seek asylum, protection from torture or other serious harms, due process in detention and deportation, freedom from discrimination, and the preservation of family unity. Human rights are universal principles that transcend politics, providing a roadmap to a more just future.

The incoming administration must meet these obligations, work to advance human rights globally, and reject immigration policies rooted in racism and white nationalism. Ensuring the protection of human rights is vital to creating a more equitable and humane society.

Please take action as soon as possible until March 3, 2025! The UA will be duly updated should there be the need for further action.