• Unfair Immigration Policies

    While international law permits states to establish immigration policies and deportation procedures, it does not grant them discretion to violate human rights in the process. The United States regularly fails to uphold international human rights law in its immigration laws and enforcement policies, by violating the rights of immigrants to fair treatment at the hands of government, to proportional sanctions, to freedom from arbitrary detention, to respect for the right to family unity, and to protection from return to persecution. Such policies violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Refugee Convention, treaties to which the United States is party.

  • Mario Chavez shares a moment with his wife, Lizeth Chavez, through the border fence at Playas de Tijuana during a weekend family visit. Mario, a US citizen, cannot not leave the US because of parole restrictions, and Lizeth, a Mexican citizen, does not have a visa to go to the United States.
    © 2008 David Maung
    US: Immigration Reform Should Uphold Rights
    The United States government should urgently reform its unfair immigration system to uphold the basic rights of non-citizens and provide a path to legal status for the country’s unauthorized immigrants, Human Rights Watch said in a policy briefing released today. While the Senate and White House proposals are a good start, more attention should be paid to ongoing abuses in enforcement policies.
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    • Deportation and Disability in the US
      Jul 23 2010 - 16:53

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Unfair Immigration Policies

  • Immigration reform needs to help families
    May 24, 2013
    If the US government is genuinely serious about border security, it should reform a barbed-wire policy that splits families to allow people who have been deported to return to their families legally and end prosecutions for minor immigration offenses, so that law enforcement can focus more appropriately on those who are actually a threat to public safety or national security.
  • Q&A: Turning Migrants into Criminals
    May 22, 2013
    Questions and answers about Human Rights Watch's report, "Turning Migrants into Criminals: The Harmful Impact of US Border Prosecutions."
  • US: Prosecuting Migrants is Hurting Families
    May 22, 2013
    The skyrocketing criminal prosecutions of migrants for illegally entering or reentering the United States carry huge human and financial costs, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Imprisoning migrants with minor or no criminal records before deporting them often affects people seeking to reunite with their families in the US or fleeing persecution.
  • Immigration reform overlooks asylum-seekers
    Apr 26, 2013
    "Work authorization is not meant to get you rich, it's to let you live," said an Egyptian asylum-seeker who fled to the United States after a radical group beat him and tried to kidnap his wife and daughter. After fleeing persecution in their home countries, asylum-seekers like this man in New Jersey face a new type of maltreatment in the United States: The U.S. government won't let them work during what is often a drawn-out asylum process.
  • US: Senate Immigration Plan Important Yet Flawed
    Apr 16, 2013
    The US Senate is set to take an important step toward establishing landmark protections for unauthorized immigrants. The plan could grant eventual legal status to millions of people and reduce their vulnerability to human rights abuses. A summary of the proposed bill was made public on April 16, 2013, outlining significant changes to the complex array of immigration laws in the United States.
  • US: Statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on “Building an Immigration System Worthy of American Values”
    Mar 20, 2013
    On March 20, 2013, the United States Senate held a hearing entitled "Building an Immigration System Worthy of American Values." Human Rights Watch submitted the following written statement for the record.
  • Lawmakers Must Reevaluate Immigration Detention System
    Mar 19, 2013
    Too many immigrants have been detained unnecessarily, at significant cost to the U.S. taxpayer.
  • US: Statement to the House Judiciary Committee on "The Separation of Nuclear Families under US Immigration Law"
    Mar 14, 2013
    On March 14, 2013, the US House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, held a hearing entitled “The Separation of Nuclear Families under US Immigration Law.” Human Rights Watch submitted the following written statement for the record.
  • US: Comments on Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Sexual Abuse in Detention Facilities
    Feb 21, 2013
    Human Rights Watch submitted these comments to the US Department of Homeland Security in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Standards To Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Sexual Abuse and Assault in Confinement Facilities. The comments address the standards that apply to immigration detention facilities.
  • US: Statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Immigration Reform and Family Unity
    Feb 18, 2013
    On March 18, 2013 the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing entitled “How Comprehensive Immigration Reform Should Address the Needs of Women and Families.” Human Rights Watch submitted the following written statement for the record.
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