Civil Rights
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DHS Reverses Decision to Abolish Three Key Civil Rights Offices
Tags Share WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Homeland Security today announced that it will not abolish the Department’s Offices for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, or the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, reversing a previous move to shutter the offices. In short notes at the top of each office’s…
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CNN: Trump appointee grilled in court about shuttering Homeland Security offices tasked with civil rights oversight
Tags Share A federal judge said that she had concerns about being “hoodwinked” by plans put forward in her courtroom Monday by a Trump appointee to rebuild three offices focused on civil rights oversight within the Department of Homeland Security that were eviscerated with mass layoffs set to take effect this week. US District Judge…
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Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Announces Maine Governor Janet Mills, Elizabeth Oyer, and Jeanette Vizguerra as 2025 Human Rights Award Laureates
Tags Share Washington, D.C., May 15, 2025 – Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights today announced Maine Governor Janet Mills, former DOJ Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer, and immigration reform activist Jeanette Vizguerra as the recipients of its 42nd annual Human Rights Award. A ceremony honoring Mills, Oyer, and Vizguerra will be held on June 5 in…
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#TunisiaExit – Unpacking Tunisia’s Restriction on Citizens’ Access to the African Court
Tags Share In early March, Tunisia officially revoked its citizens’ abilities to file cases against the government in Africa’s human rights court. On March 7, 2025, Tunisia notified the African Union (AU) of its decision to withdraw the Article 34(6) declaration that allows individuals and non-governmental organizations to file cases against it before the African Court…
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Monroe v. United States: Dismantling barriers to accountability for police brutality
This case seeks accountability under international human rights law for survivors and victims of police brutality. It asks the Inter-American Commission for a declaration that the human rights of Mr. Monroe and his mother were violated by his unlawful arrest and beating by Louisiana police and the subsequent failure of Louisiana and federal authorities to…
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This Week’s Spotlight on Human Rights
Tags Share U.S. Press Freedom Falls to Historical Low Press freedom in the United States has hit a record low, according to the latest World Press Freedom Index published annually by Reporters Without Borders. Press freedom in the U.S. now falls in line with developing countries, such as Gambia, Uruguay and Sierra Leone. While physical threats against journalists…
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Groups Ask Judge to Immediately Restore Civil Rights and Ombudsman Offices at Department of Homeland Security
Tags Share WASHINGTON, D.C. — Human rights and immigration advocate groups late yesterday asked a judge to issue a preliminary injunction to resume operations of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Office, and Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, asking the court…
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This Week’s Spotlight on Human Rights
Tags Share International Tribunal Condemns U.S. Border Officials for Torturing, Killing Immigrant Nearly 15 years after Anastasio Hernández Rojas’ wife began pushing for justice in her husband’s killing, an international human rights commission found that U.S. border officials were responsible for his death — and that they tortured him before he died. This is the first time that…
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Submission to the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement (EMLER) on Barriers to Accountability for Police Brutality
Receiving Body United Nations International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the Context of Law Enforcement (EMLER) Report Type Submission for the Fourth Annual Report to the Human Rights Council Tags Partners
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Associated Press: Civil rights groups sue to restore jobs at Homeland Security oversight offices that were gutted
Tags Share Three advocacy groups are suing the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem, seeking to restore staff jobs at three gutted offices that oversee civil rights protections across the department’s broad mission. The lawsuit was filed Thursday by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization, the Southern Border Communities Coalition, and the Urban Justice Center. On March…
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This Week’s Spotlight on Human Rights
Tags Share Trump Guts Key Civil Rights Protections With New Executive Order On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would further weaken civil rights protections and make it more difficult for plaintiffs to prevail in discrimination cases in areas such as education, housing, health care and public benefits. The order instructs federal agencies to stop enforcing laws and regulations…
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Groups Sue Secretary Noem, DHS, for Shuttering of Civil Rights Offices
Tags Share WASHINGTON, D.C. — Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Southern Border Communities Coalition, and Urban Justice Center – represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group and Democracy Forward – filed a lawsuit today against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to challenge the Trump administration’s decision last month to close DHS’s Office for Civil Rights…
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