(Washington, DC) – Donald Trump’s second term as United States president poses a grave threat to human rights in the United States and the world, Human Rights Watch said today. These concerns reflect Trump’s rights-abusing record during his first term, his embrace of white supremacist supporters and ideology, the extreme antidemocratic and anti-rights policies proposed by think tanks led by former aides, and campaign promises, including to round up and deport millions of immigrants and retaliate against political opponents.
“Donald Trump has made no secret of his intent to violate the human rights of millions of people in the United States,” said Tirana Hassan, executive director at Human Rights Watch. “Independent institutions and civil society groups, including Human Rights Watch, will need to do all we can to hold him and his administration accountable for abuses.”
During Trump’s first term as president, from 2017 to 2021, Human Rights Watch documented his record of rights abuses. These included policies and efforts to expel asylum seekers and separate families at the US-Mexico border, advance racist tropes against Black communities and other people of color, adopt policies that punish low-income families and deprive them of health care, and to fuel a violent insurrection to overthrow the results of a democratic election.
Trump’s pledges during his 2024 campaign raise greater cause for concern in a second term, both domestically and internationally. In 2023, he said he would not be a dictator “except for day one” in office. Trump has repeatedly praised autocrats such as Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un. He has proposed policies that would weaken democratic institutions that protect fundamental human rights and would lessen checks on presidential authority. The threat of abusing the executive office is of even greater concern because of a recent US Supreme Court decision that grants presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions taken in office.
Project 2025, a governing plan written by Trump’s former advisers and political allies, details many other abusive, often racially discriminatory policies that the new administration may adopt. Although Trump has denied connections to Project 2025, many of his statements echo its premises.
While the presidential campaign cycle featured rhetoric from both candidates that was hostile toward immigrants, Trump made scapegoating immigrants a central pillar of his campaign. He has called for extreme policies that include mass detention of migrants and mass deportations of millions of people, which would tear apart families with deep roots in the US. Such a program would invariably entail racial profiling, lead to heightened abuses by law enforcement during mass roundups, and instigate more xenophobic actions among the wider public. During the campaign, Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, spread racist lies about Haitian migrants in particular and fomented disinformation that immigration leads to increased crime in the United States.
Abortion rights will be under increased threat during Trump’s second term. His insistence that states should have the power to block access to basic health care allows policies that violate rights, endanger health, lead to preventable deaths, and criminalize private health care decisions.
Trump has vowed to retaliate against his political enemies. Throughout speeches and campaign interviews, he has used increasingly dangerous rhetoric, referring to his critics as “the enemy from within.” Trump threatened to order the US Department of Justice to pursue prosecutions against President Joe Biden and others he claims oppose his agenda, including election officials and voters. Trump has also suggested he would invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the US military and national guard against people in the US who might exercise their right to protest.
With respect to foreign policy, during his first term Trump demonstrated little respect for treaties, multilateral institutions, or efforts to protect the human rights of people living under repressive governments. His administration consistently worked against women’s rights and environmental progress at the United Nations and tried to redefine and limit the definition of rights to be protected through the US Department of State.
Trump has signaled opposition to funding for humanitarian aid and civilian protection efforts in major conflicts and crises. Likely partnerships with rights-abusing governments during a new Trump administration risk emboldening these governments to further harm people within their purview and perpetuate cycles of abuse and immunity from accountability around the world.
“Rights-respecting institutions and officials need to hold the line during the Trump administration,” Hassan said. “World leaders, federal and state workers, activists, and ordinary citizens have a role to play in protecting human rights and keeping Trump from carrying out the abuses he has promised.”