Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
If you are a member of the press, please reach out to [email protected]
Press Release
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA RESPONDS TO TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Trump touched on issues of national security as well as immigration and asylum, claiming, “we entered into historic cooperation agreements with the Governments of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. As a result of our unprecedented efforts, illegal crossings are down 75 percent since May -- dropping 8 straight months in a row. And as the wall goes up, drug seizures rise, and border crossings go down." In response, Amnesty International USA’s national director of advocacy and government affairs, Joanne Lin, said: “President Trump's remarks tonight show that he has no inclination to…
February 4, 2020
Press Release
Amnesty International Demands NGO Access to Mexico’s Migrant Detention Centers
In response to the decision by the National Institute of Migration (INM) to temporarily suspend access by all religious associations and NGOs to the country's migration detention centers, which was denied hours later by the Ministry of the Interior, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:
January 29, 2020
Press Release
Efforts to Revive the Muslim Ban are Atrocious
Responding to reports that the Trump administration is expanding what has become known as the Muslim ban, which President Trump signed during his first week in office, Margaret Huang, Amnesty International USA’s executive director said:
January 29, 2020
Press Release
Amnesty International USA and Partners to Brief Press on Trump Administration’s Muslim Ban Expansion
In response to reports that President Trump is expanding what has become known as the Muslim ban, Amnesty InternationalUSA (AIUSA), along with a coalition of immigrant rights groups leading the work to protect the rights of communities impacted by the ban, will brief press on the impacts of this expansion and actions to be taken in the face of these cruel and inhumane policies.
January 27, 2020
Press Release
Anniversary of the implementation of so-called ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy marks rampant rights abuses
Wednesday, January 29 marks one year since the Trump administration implemented an unprecedented program disingenuously titled the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as “Remain in Mexico,” under which the U.S. government forcibly returns people to Mexico while they ask for asylum in the U.S. Since last January, close to 60,000 people who arrived at the Mexico-U.S. border have been forced to stay in Mexico for months in dangerous conditions while they fight their asylum claims in the United States. As of January 23, 2020, there have been 816 public reports of kidnapping, extortion, rape, murder, torture and other violent…
January 24, 2020
Press Release
Final 2020 Congressional Funding Bills Fall Far Short of Making Human Rights a Priority
Responding to the final funding bills for Fiscal Year 2020, Amnesty International USA urges that the U.S. government must step up its contribution to global efforts to protect human rights. Earlier this week, Amnesty International USA welcomed efforts to secure $25,000,000 to aid in research around gun violence after recommendations from 160 medical, public health, and research organizations. Although Amnesty International USA acknowledges that these funds are a long overdue step in the right direction, the overall 2020 spending bill does little to restrict the human rights abuses to which the administration has subjected asylum seekers. “We are deeply…
December 19, 2019
Update
Statement on the Impact of US Counter terrorism Efforts in Africa on Human Rights before House Oversight and Reform National Security Subcommittee Dec. 17 2019
The Impact of US Counter terrorism Efforts in Africa on Human Rights Statement from Adotei Akwei Amnesty International USA for the National Security Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform December 17, 2019 Chairman Lynch, Ranking Member Hice and members of the House Subcommittee on National Security, on behalf of the members and supporters of Amnesty International USA, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to present our concerns and recommendations regarding US Counter terrorism (CT) efforts in Africa and their impact on human rights there. Amnesty International is a global human rights organization, launched in…
December 17, 2019
Press Release
Saudi Arabia Must End Ill-Treatment and Arbitrary Detention of Human Rights Defender, Waleed Abu Al-Khair
Amnesty International has received credible reports that Saudi Arabian prison authorities arbitrarily placed human rights defender and prisoner of conscience Waleed Abu al-Khair in solitary confinement and under tightened security. Waleed was placed in solitary confinement in Dhahban Prison near Jeddah on November 26 and for the past week, has been held incommunicado, put through torture and other ill-treatment.
December 6, 2019
Press Release
Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act Signals Chinese Government Must Be Held Accountable for its Abuses
Responding to the passage of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act in the United States Senate and House of Representatives, Francisco Bencosme, the Asia Pacific advocacy manager at Amnesty International USA said...
December 4, 2019
Report
War and Exclusion in Yemen Leave Millions of People with Disabilities in the Lurch
Millions of people with disabilities in Yemen have not only endured years of armed conflict but are also among those most excluded amid what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, Amnesty International said today.
December 2, 2019
Press Release
Turkey’s Prosecution Call for Jail Term of Up to 15 Years for Six Human Rights Defenders, Including Amnesty’s Honorary Chair and Former Director, Defies Logic
“Today’s vindictive request by the State Prosecutor for jail terms of up to 15 years ignores the evidence and defies all logic."
November 27, 2019
Press Release
Amnesty’s Ex-Director and Honorary Chair in Turkey Must be Acquitted in Absurd “Terror” Trial
More than two years after they were first detained, the honorary chair, the former director of Amnesty International and nine other human rights defenders must be acquitted of the absurd charges they still face, said Amnesty International ahead of their next trial hearing which resumes tomorrow in Istanbul.
November 25, 2019