Criminal Legal System
-
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…
-
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
-
Human Rights Groups Urge United Nations Racial Justice Body to Address Legal Barriers for Victims of Police Violence
Tags Share Washington, D.C., April 28, 2025 – Last week, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Louisiana, and the Juror Project submitted a report to a United Nations experts body highlighting legal barriers for victims of police violence who seek civil remedies. The report was submitted ahead…
-
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…
-
This Week’s Spotlight on Human Rights
Tags Share Trump Administration Directs Judges to Deny Asylum Without Hearings A new Trump administration policy urges immigration judges to swiftly deny asylum to migrants whose applications they deem unlikely to succeed. The expedited dismissals would circumvent the normal hearing process, which typically takes years to wind through the backlogged courts. Trump Measures Make Life…
-
VT Digger: Nikhil Goyal and Kerry Kennedy: Vermont can show that we can be smart on crime by treating youth like youth
Tags Share In a recent VTDigger commentary, Founder of RFK Human rights Kerry Kennedy and sociologist Nikhil Goyal highlight Vermont’s progressive juvenile justice reforms, particularly the “Raise the Age” law. This legislation allows individuals under age 20 to be tried in juvenile court for certain offenses, emphasizing rehabilitation over punishment. The authors argue that such…
-
WBUR: Poor conditions at Louisiana ICE detention center holding Tufts student, advocates say
Tags Share WBUR has reported, former detainees have described punitive and unsanitary conditions at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, where a Turkish Tufts University student, Öztürk, is being held. In an August 2024 report, Anthony Enriquez—vice president of U.S. advocacy and litigation at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights—warned that Öztürk faces the…
-
Kansas Reflector: CoreCivic plans for ICE facility in Kansas have generated public opposition. It’s plowing ahead.
Tags Share In an article published by the Kansas Reflector, Medha Raman, a Dale and James J. Pinto Fellow on the U.S. Advocacy and Litigation Team at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, provides insight into the concern surrounding CoreCivic’s plans to reopen the shuttered Leavenworth Detention Center in Kansas as an ICE facility. Despite widespread…
-
This Week’s Spotlight on Human Rights
Tags Share Trump’s Attacks On Press Freedom Are Paving The Way For Authoritarianism A leading global democracy research institute says democratic “backsliding” must be turned around quickly—warning that after 10 years, recovery is “close to impossible.” In 2024, the Democrats ran on the catchphrase “We are not going back.” Even after the party’s resounding defeat,…
-
Al Jazeera: Mahmoud Khalil case—Judge rules activist’s case can remain in New Jersey
Tags Share Speaking with Al Jazeera, our client Daniel Cortes De La Valle recounts his experience in a notorious Louisiana ICE facility – the same facility where student protest leader Mahmoud Khalil is currently detained. While detained in the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, Daniel was subjected to horrific abuse, including severe medical neglect, denial…
-
This Week’s Spotlight on Human Rights
Tags Share Trump Administration Advances Immigration Crackdown On Foreign Student Protesters The Trump administration is ramping up penalties against students who engaged in protests against the war in Gaza, revoking the visas of hundreds of alleged demonstrators. The Trump administration is ramping up penalties against students who engaged in protests against the war in Gaza, revoking…
-
The Buffalo News: Migrant crime wave? Experts and statistics tell a different story
Tags Share President Trump’s claims of a “migrant crime wave” were a constant refrain during his presidential campaign. But as The Buffalo News reports, many studies in recent years have concluded that immigrants – including undocumented immigrants – are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. In this article, RFK Human Rights experts help…
Share