Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment
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ProPublica—Inside ICE Air: Flight Attendants on Deportation Planes Say Disaster Is “Only a Matter of Time”
Tags Share ProPublica reports on human rights abuses on U.S. deportation flights, including RFK Human Rights’ lawsuit on behalf of African asylum-seekers restrained for hours in the Wrap, a cross between a straitjacket and a sleeping bag that one federal judge has called torture. “Flight attendants were told they would fly rock bands, sports teams…
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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…
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WXXI News: Lawsuit targets mail policy at ICE’s detention center in Batavia
Tags Share “ICE’s new mail policy is a flagrant violation of confidentiality and privacy.” On March 10, RFK Human Rights sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility over the facility’s failure to protect the confidentiality of legal mail. Speaking with Rochester Public Radio, attorney Sarah Decker comments on…
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Letter to the U.N. Secretary-General in Advance of His Visit to Bangladesh
Tags Share His Excellency António Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations Dear Secretary-General: As human rights organizations, we write to respectfully urge you to do everything in your power to provide U.N. support to Bangladesh during this critical period in the country’s political transition. Bangladesh is now undergoing unprecedented changes following widespread protests that led to…
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The Tennessean: As U.S Justice Advocates, We Hold CoreCivic Responsible for TN Understaffing Woes
Tags Share In The Tennessean, a letter to the editor written by Anthony Enriquez, VP of U.S. Advocacy at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, exposes how private prison industry executives have exploited small-town workers while enabling the inhumane treatment of detainees- all for their profit. Enriquez highlights the empty promises made by private prison corporations…
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Investigative Post: ICE abuse of Detainees in Batavia Facility
Tags Share Recently released federal audits of ICE detention facilities in Batavia have exposed the inhumane and abusive treatment of detainees by facility guards. The 2023 audit detailed excessive force and deplorable living conditions within the center. In addition, former detainees have spoken out, leading 40 individuals to file a civil rights complaint with the…
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Human rights organizations urge United Nations to denounce abuse of LGBTQ+ people in immigration detention facilities
Tags Share Washington, D.C., February 18, 2025 – Last week, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Black Diaspora Liberty Initiative, Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project, Immigration Equality, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, Sanctuary New Orleans Abolition Project, and the Transgender Law Center filed a joint submission urging the United Nations to denounce widespread abuse of LGBTQ+ people…
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US abuses forcibly displaced LGBTQ+ people in immigration detention: report to UN Independent Expert on Protection against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Inside for-profit immigration detention centers, the U.S. government wields solitary confinement, sexual abuse and harassment, and denial of medical care against forcibly displaced LGBTQ+ people—sometimes with deadly consequences.
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RFK Human Rights exige la liberación inmediata del activista venezolano Jesús Armas
Tags Share Washington D.C.: El 10 de diciembre de 2024, Jesús Armas fue secuestrado por las fuerzas de seguridad venezolanas en un contexto de represión política generalizada. Testigos informan que Armas—quien había estado abogando por elecciones libres y justas en el país—fue secuestrado en el “Café Canel” en el vecindario Las Mercedes de Caracas. Aproximadamente…
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RFK Human Rights calls for the immediate release of Venezuelan activist Jesús Armas
Tags Share Washington D.C.: On December 10, 2024, Jesús Armas was abducted by the Venezuelan security forces amid a context of widespread political repression. Witnesses report that Armas—who had been advocating for free and fair elections in the country—was abducted at the “Café Canel” in Caracas’s Las Mercedes neighborhood. At approximately 9:20 PM, six masked…
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This Week’s Spotlight on Human Rights
Tags Share Will Trump’s Executive Order Require Americans to Carry ID or Face Arrest? Among President Donald Trump’s slew of immigration-related executive orders signed in his first week is mention of an 80-year law that went largely unnoticed. In seeking to tighten border security, Trump invoked a rule requiring immigrants to carry identification proving their status — something civil-rights groups…
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