How the U Visa Builds Trust, Counters Fear, and Promotes Community Safety
The 50-page report, “‘We Need U’: How the U Visa Builds Trust, Counters Fear, and Promotes Community Safety,” finds that the administration’s deportation policies undermine federal visa programs that provide a pathway for crime victims to obtain legal residency when they cooperate with law enforcement. Changed enforcement guidance, such as allowing Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to apprehend people in previously safe places like courthouses and health centers, is a strong deterrent for immigrants who might otherwise report crime to police or seek a protective order.
This 94-page report is among the most detailed studies of the subject by an international human rights organization. It is based on interviews conducted during a two-week visit to the camps, as well as interviews conducted elsewhere.
US Border Screening and Returns of Central Americans to Risk of Serious Harm
This report details the US border policies and practices that place migrants at risk of serious harm back home, based on the accounts of people sent back to Honduras, people in detention, and an analysis of deportation data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Israel’s Coercion of Eritrean and Sudanese Asylum Seekers to Leave Israel
This 83-page report documents how Israel’s convoluted legal rules thwart Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers’ attempts to secure protection under Israeli and international law.
This 67-page report details how Thailand’s use of immigration detention violates children’s rights, risks their health and wellbeing, and imperils their development. The Thai government should stop detaining children on immigration grounds, Human Rights Watch said.
The 46-page report is based on interviews with more than 30 people affected by the non-admission policy. Human Rights Watch also documented Jordan’s withdrawal of Jordanian citizenship from some Palestinians who had lived in Syria for many years and who have been detained or deported to Syria without identity documents.
Bulgaria’s Pushbacks and Detention of Syrian and Other Asylum Seekers and Migrants
This 76-page report documents how in recent months Bulgarian border police, often using excessive force, have summarily returned people who appear to be asylum seekers to Turkey. The people have been forced back across the border without proper procedures and with no opportunity to lodge asylum claims.
The 100-page report shows that Tibetan refugee communities in Nepal are now facing a de facto ban on political protests, sharp restrictions on public activities promoting Tibetan culture and religion, and routine abuses by Nepali security forces.
Trafficking and Torture of Eritreans in Sudan and Egypt
This 79-page report documents how, since 2010, Egyptian traffickers have tortured Eritreans for ransom in the Sinai Peninsula, including through rape, burning, and mutilation.
Ill-Treatment of Sub-Saharan African Migrants in Morocco
This 79-page report found that beatings and other abuses occurred as Moroccan security forces took custody of Sub-Saharan migrants who had tried unsuccessfully to reach the Spanish enclave of Melilla, or—prior to September 2013—as they were rounding up migrants without any semblance of due process to expel them to Algeria.
Iran’s Violation of Afghan Refugee and Migrant Rights
This 124-page report documents how Iran’s flawed asylum system results in a detention and deportation process with no due process or opportunity for legal appeal. Iranian officials have in recent years limited legal avenues for Afghans to claim refugee or other immigration status in Iran, even as conditions in Afghanistan have deteriorated.
The Denial of Work Authorization and Assistance for Asylum Seekers in the United States
The 56-page report documents the hardships faced by asylum seekers, many of whom suffered egregious abuses in their home countries, as a consequence of being denied work authorization. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) should be amended to remove the bar to employment for asylum seekers with non-frivolous claims, the groups said.
Detention, Abuse, and Neglect of Migrant Children in Indonesia
This 86-page report details Indonesia’s poor treatment of migrant and asylum-seeking children. They arrive in Indonesia after fleeing persecution, violence, and poverty in Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma, and elsewhere. Indonesia detains hundreds of migrant and asylum-seeking children each year without giving them a way to challenge their detention.
The 52-page report documents frequent stops of people who appear to be foreigners, unjustified searches of their belongings, insults, and, in some cases, physical abuse. Many are detained for hours in police stations pending verification of their legal status.
Abuses against Internally Displaced in Mogadishu, Somalia
The 80-page report details serious violations, including physical attacks, restrictions on movement and access to food and shelter, and clan-based discrimination against the displaced in Mogadishu from the height of the famine in mid-2011 through 2012.
