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By Paul O’Brien
Executive director, Amnesty International USA
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On this Human Rights Day, we honor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)—the foundational 1948 document affirming that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” which the U.S. helped draft. Today, the U.S. government needs to take a hard look in the mirror.
The U.S. human rights record has been far from spotless, but under President Donald Trump, attacks on human rights at home and abroad have escalated on an alarming scale. From targeting protestors to treating immigrants cruelly, from sending militarized forces into our communities to extrajudicially killing (murdering) more than 80 people in the Caribbean and Pacific, the Trump administration’s assault on human rights must stop.
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As we mark Human Rights Day, we refuse to idly stand by. Human rights are universal; they belong to everybody, everywhere, all the time, just by virtue of their being human. The Trump administration may dismiss them, but we will not. Across the country, millions of people are demanding accountability and respect for human rights. Their courage is a reminder that we must never normalize this assault.
Authoritarian Practices, Eroded Rights
Since President Trump took office, authoritarian practices and contempt for the rule of law have surged dramatically. His administration has targeted universities—crushing student protests and threatening academic freedom. Mahmoud Khalil, a student protester and negotiator at Columbia University detained for months before a judge ordered his release, still faces ongoing immigration proceedings. His only “offense” was exercising his right to freedom of expression. Targeting and threatening peaceful protesters and their immigration status is a clear violation of human rights. This administration’s message is unmistakable: dissent, and you risk punishment, detention or deportation.
Khalil’s case is not unique. At least 10 international students and activists have faced similar targeting for Palestinian rights advocacy, including Leqaa Kordia, a 32-year-old Palestinian woman detained since March 13, 2025, after a protest at Columbia University. She must be released immediately.
Journalists have also been targeted. Reporter Mario Guevara**,** detained in June for covering a protest in Georgia, was deported in October. This sends a chilling message to every journalist in the United States: reporting the truth can get you jailed or thrown out of this country.
Immigrants are being detained without warrants or due process, at historic levels in inhumane and cruel conditions. I recently met with lawyers and people previously detained in the Everglades Detention Facility, known as “Alligator Alcatraz” who shared devastating reports of torture, denial of medical care and inhumane conditions without access to attorneys. At a visit to the Krome North Service Processing Center, another immigrant detention center in Florida, I saw these conditions with my owns eyes and spoke to people detained who said they’ve “lived through hell.”
Militarized forces have taken over city streets—especially threatening to brown and Black communities—even as local officials and some federal judges demanded President Trump stop. Masked federal officers have conducted nighttime raids, terrorizing entire neighborhoods and taking people without warrants. Children are torn from their parents, and people who have come to our border seeking safety are denied their right to seek asylum.People who have protested these heavy-handed enforcement tactics are met with law enforcement in riot gear firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
These are not policy disputes—they are human rights violations.
President Trump is trying to silence dissent by invoking fear everywhere. I was one of the 7 million people protesting in October refusing to give up our rights. We, the people mobilizing to defend our rights, are growing in number and power!
Human Rights Transcend Politics
Human rights are not about left or right. They’re about right and wrong. They protect the human dignity and safety of every person. If we stay silent as rights are violated and denied, the question isn’t ifmore violations will follow, but when.
Now is the time for collective action. We are in this together. We inspire each other by protesting, speaking out and joining local movements that defend those whose rights are being violated. Colleges and universities must safeguard students’ rights to learn, be safe on campus and express themselves freely, without fear or punishment. Lawmakers must hold the Trump administration accountable by investigating abuses, cutting funding to agencies that violate rights and establishing real oversight over a lawless administration. The United States must also reengage globally by rejoining and committing to global human rights initiatives and systems.
The adoption of the UDHR on December 10, 1948, recognized human rights as the foundation for freedom, justice and peace. All people everywhere have a right to live their lives freely, equally and in dignity. We can, and we must, do better. The path forward begins with accountability, courage and collective action—from those who lead our government and from each of us. On this day, and every day, let us raise our voices and demand that the United States do what is right.
Paul O’Brien is executive director of Amnesty International USA.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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