Language used by Donald Trump and other political leaders in the United States that has been described as “racist hate speech,” together with the country’s increasingly strict migration policies, has resulted in serious human rights concerns, according to a United Nations monitoring body.
In a non-binding ruling released earlier this week, the UN committee responsible for overseeing the elimination of racial discrimination (CERD) urged the United States to respect the commitments it made as a participant in the international treaty designed to combat racism and discrimination.
The committee, made up of 18 independent specialists, said it was alarmed by what it described as the rising use of degrading and dehumanising rhetoric, along with negative stereotypes directed at migrants, including refugees and individuals seeking asylum.
“Portraying them as criminals or as a burden, by politicians and influential public figures at the highest level, particularly the president, may incite racial discrimination and hate crimes,” the panel stated, in comments that appeared to represent a rare moment in which remarks attributed to a sitting US president were highlighted in this way.
Trump has for years attempted to associate immigration with criminal activity, even though numerous studies and statistical analyses have shown that immigrants contribute significantly to the American economy and commit crimes at lower rates than native-born citizens.
The five-page determination also described a number of concerns related to immigration enforcement policies implemented during Trump’s administration. These included allegations of the systematic use of racial profiling by personnel from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol officers, as well as reports describing “discriminatory, dangerous and violent methods” that investigators say have been linked to the deaths of at least eight individuals since January 2026.
Focusing on Minneapolis, where federal immigration officers significantly expanded their presence this year, the committee noted what it described as “a pattern of serious human rights violations”.
The deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were killed in separate shootings involving federal agents in the city, could potentially represent “gross violations of international human rights law, and could constitute extrajudicial killing of two peaceful protesters,” the report stated.
The committee also expressed strong concern about what it described as a “drastic increase” in the number of migrants placed in detention facilities. According to its findings, the population in detention grew from around 40,000 people in late 2024 to approximately 73,000 at the beginning of this year.
Since Trump returned to office in January 2025, at least 675,000 individuals have been deported, the panel said. During the same period, the administration also introduced measures that removed legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants who had previously been residing lawfully in the United States.
The committee said reports describing migrants being held in “inhumane conditions” and receiving “inadequate medical care” were particularly troubling. It noted that at least 29 migrants died in detention centers last year, with six additional deaths reported in January of this year.
The decision followed a request from the American Civil Liberties Union, which asked the panel to examine possible rights violations connected to the administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
Previous US administrations, including those led by Barack Obama and Joe Biden, have also faced criticism from the same UN committee. However, neither of those presidents were specifically singled out for their public rhetoric, whereas in this case the UN-backed panel directly referenced Trump’s language as problematic.
A spokesperson for the White House dismissed the findings, instead pointing to Trump’s policies aimed at strengthening border security.
“This United Nations assessment is just as useless as their broken escalator, and their extreme bias continues to prove why no one takes them seriously,” Olivia Wales said in a statement to reporters.
“No one cares what the biased United Nations’ so-called ‘experts’ think, because Americans are living in a safer, stronger country than ever before,” she added.
