Trending 
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has criticised what he described as the routine abuse and denigration of migrants by United States authorities.
Turk said he was deeply concerned by US migration policies and enforcement methods, which he argued fail to respect human dignity and due process, while fostering what he called a dehumanising portrayal of migrants and refugees.
He expressed alarm at the scale and intensity of immigration enforcement operations, noting that thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had been deployed to Minneapolis as part of the administration of President Donald Trump’s renewed push to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
Turk’s remarks followed reports that a five-year-old boy had been detained during the crackdown, prompting outrage from Democratic lawmakers and local officials in the city.
Minneapolis has also seen growing unrest since January 7, when federal agents shot and killed US citizen Renee Good during an operation. While the Trump administration defended the shooting as an act of self-defence, protests in the city have intensified.
The UN rights chief further criticised the use of large-scale enforcement operations, saying immigration and federal agents were repeatedly resorting to force that appeared unnecessary or disproportionate.
He stressed that under international law, lethal force should only be used as a last resort when there is an imminent threat to life.
Turk also warned that several US migration policies were leading to arbitrary and unlawful arrests and detentions, as well as flawed deportation decisions. He added that migrants were being surveilled and detained in places such as hospitals, schools, religious centres, courthouses, markets, and even their homes, often based solely on suspicion of lacking legal status.
“Under international law, the intentional use of lethal force is only permissible as a measure of last resort against an individual representing an imminent threat to life.
“Individuals are being surveilled and detained, sometimes violently, including at hospitals, churches, mosques, courthouses, markets, schools, and even within their own homes, often solely on mere suspicion of being undocumented migrants.”
He also raised concerns that individuals who speak out or protest peacefully against immigration raids are being vilified, threatened, and in some cases subjected to violence.
“Those who dare to speak up or protest peacefully against heavy-handed immigration raids are vilified and threatened by officials, and on occasion subjected to arbitrary violence themselves.”
The UN official further stated the failure of authorities to protect family unity during arrests, detentions, and expulsions, warning that children in particular face serious and long-term harm as a result.
Turk has called on the US administration to urgently halt enforcement practices that separate families and undermine fundamental human rights.
