April 25, 2017 – As the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s administration come to a close, Amnesty International has compiled a list of 100 ways the Trump administration has threatened human rights in the U.S. and around the world – sometimes succeeding, and sometimes being blocked by a powerful and growing resistance movement.
Closing Borders and Shutting the Door to Refugees
- 1. Trump has stopped refugees from entering the U.S., trapping some in the violence they are attempting to flee:
- 2. The ban also demonizes refugees as criminals and supporters of terror:
- 3. And leaves 47,000 acutely vulnerable refugees stranded:
- 4. While causing a potential domino effect on refugee admissions around the world:
- 5. Children fleeing horrific violence in Central America will be at risk:
- 6. And women fleeing some of the world’s worst conflicts and highest levels of violence will bear a huge brunt:
- 7. As Iraqi interpreters are left stranded, too:
- 8. The U.S. is flouting its international commitments to protect refugees’ human rights:
- 9. And the Trump administration is slashing emergency funds for refugees:
- 10. And refugees in the U.S. who thought they had found safety are now – again – living in fear:
- 11. People fleeing violence are refused entry to the U.S.:
- 12. And it’s now even more dangerous to cross the U.S.-Mexico border:
- 13. People seeking asylum are being treated like criminals:
- 14. And it’s becoming even harder to even get the chance to ask for asylum:
- 15. While asylum remains difficult to obtain even for those who get to make their case:
- 16. Now smugglers are taking advantage of people’s desperation:
- 17. Trump has stripped non-citizens of Privacy Act protections, with profound implications for asylum-seekers:
- 18. Trump’s policies could trap 80,000 people—including families fleeing violence—in immigration detention:
- 19. The Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly threatened to separate families at the border:
- 20. The administration is declaring war on unaccompanied kids:
- 21. And their parents:
- 22. Which could conceivably lead to refugee camps at the southern border:
- 23. Trump’s proposed border wall will undermine the rights of indigenous communities and harm the environment:
- 24. While also blocking access to asylum:
- 25. And creating a symbol that emboldens other countries to close their borders:
- 26. Trump has handed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) more power without adequate oversight:
- 27. CBP’s increased discretion at the border also puts U.S. citizens at risk:
- 28. And has led to communities along the border being subjected to racially motivated stops and searches:
- 29. And now local police are being encouraged to act like the border patrol:
- 30. Trump’s travel ban executive orders (both of them) banning people from Muslim-majority countries tried to write bigotry into law:
- 31. Though it’s still dangerous to Fly While Muslim:
- 32. And families are being torn apart, despite the courts:
- 33. And students are being discouraged from studying in the U.S.:
- 34. And people cannot get the medical care they need:
- 35. As we’ve seen with Iran, the effect within our borders cannot be ignored:
Hate-Based Harassment and Violence
- 36. Fear and uncertainty for American Muslims continues, as the climate of hate persists and reported hate crimes increase:
- 37. The White House has downplayed reports of hate-based harassment and violence against Muslim, Jewish and other communities:
Emboldening – And Arming – Human Rights Abusers
- 38. Trump and his administration consistently ignore human rights abuses outside U.S. borders (in some cases, praising leaders) which could embolden human rights abusers around the world, like in Turkey:
- 39. And China:
- 40. And Egypt:
- 41. And Russia:
- 42. And Saudi Arabia:
- 43. And the Philippines:
- 44. Trump and his cabinet are also abandoning human rights defenders in their conversations with global leaders:
- 45. Like with Mexico:
- 46. And Peru:
- 47. And Palestine:
- 48. Trump is also arming human rights abusers by selling arms to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia:
- 49. And Nigeria:
Expanding Conflict and Driving Up the Number of Civilian Casualties Globally
- 50. Trump’s campaign call to “bomb the shit out of them” is translating into an expansion in military force:
- 51. It’s meant hundreds of civilians were killed by U.S.-led coalition air strikes in Mosul, Iraq in March:
- 52. And, in one of the deadliest strikes in years, on March 17, up to 150 people were reported killed:
- 53. More civilians were reported killed by the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria in March than in any other month:
- 54. And as many as 10 Yemeni women and children were killed in a U.S. raid that Trump touted as a “success”:
- 55. While he authorizes expanded strikes in Somalia and rolls back civilian casualty protections:
- 56. Trump is also threatening cyberwar proliferation:
- 57. And an increased the risk of a nuclear arms race:
- 58. Also, the CIA is back in the killing business:
Cutting Funds to a World in Crisis
- 59. The Trump administration is trying to slash U.S. funding to the United Nations:
- 60. While capping support on UN peacekeeping:
- 61. And gutting diplomacy while increasing military spending:
- 62. The president’s proposed budget will leave African countries in the lurch:
- 63. His cuts to health funding threaten women’s health care globally:
- 64. All the while, dismissing international mechanisms and bodies:
A Cabinet Full of Human Rights Threats
- 65. With Jeff Sessions as Attorney General:
- 66. And Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State:
- 67. And Mike Pompeo as CIA Director:
- 68. And Scott Pruitt as Environmental Protection Agency Director:
- 69. And Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education:
Torture, Guantánamo, and Justice for the 9/11 Attacks
- 70. Trump is a president who supports torture:
- 71. And has considered re-starting CIA black sites:
- 72. As he continues indefinite detention without charge or fair trial for 41 individuals at Guantánamo:
- 73. While threatening to fill it up with new detainees:
- 74. And spreading fear and misinformation:
- 75. 9/11 victims’ family members continue to wait for justice, more than 15 years later:
- 76. As failed and unfair trials in military commissions continue:
- 77. And Attorney General Sessions floats the possibility of new military commissions:
- 78. Trump’s Justice Department is trying to block the truth about torture:
- 79. While those who authorized and carried out torture still have not been held accountable, and some are finding new roles in the administration:
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
Hostility Toward LGBT Rights
- 81. Trump repealed protections for transgender students:
- 82. And rescinded workplace protections for LGBT people:
- 83. The administration sent an anti-LGBT group to UN women’s rights conference:
- 84. While placing an anti-LGBT Head of Civil Rights Office at Health and Human Services:
Criminal Justice, Gun Violence and Policing
- 85. Trump and his attorney general’s dangerous rhetoric on criminal justice could become reality:
- 86. Trump has created new federal penalties for crimes against law enforcement officers:
- 87. While Session’s DOJ is questioning police reform agreements:
- 88. Also, Trump threatened to send ‘the Feds’ to Chicago:
- 89. And signaled he would rescind a previous order against the militarization of law enforcement:
Attempts to Dismantle Women’s Rights and Reproductive Freedoms
- 90. Trump has revoked workplace protections for women:
- 91. And also reinstated the Global Gag rule:
- 92. Trump’s actions will also likely cause an increase maternal death rates around the world:
- 93. While curtailing reproductive rights in the U.S.:
Free Speech and Expression
- 94. Trump has been outright hostile toward those expressing dissent:
- 95. While labeling the media as “the enemy”:
- 96. And believing his free speech rights are more important than protestors’:
Rolling Back Critical Human Rights Protections
- 97. Trump is abandoning steps to address climate changes and its effect on human rights:
- 98. President Trump and Congress came too close to passing the American Health Care Act:
- 99. Trump has repealed rules meant to fight corruption:
- 100. And is threatening to ease regulations on use of conflict minerals: