Tessera

Read the full report.👇 www.hrw.org/news/2026/05...

Cubans, Many in the US for Decades, Deported to Mexico

The Trump administration has deported thousands of Cubans, many of them older adults, to Mexico, denying them due process and leaving many stranded without access to basic services, Human Rights Watch...

hrw.org

The majority of the men had lived in the US, predominantly in Florida, for years after fleeing Cuba due to political repression or lack of economic opportunities. Many had built businesses, owned homes, & left family members behind in the US. Most are 60 or older & have chronic health conditions.

HRW documented US gov abuses against Cubans and other third-country nationals deported to Mexico between January 2025 and March 2026. With no other recourse to obtain permanent residency in Mexico, many Cuban deportees, whose home government refuses to take them back, are trapped in a legal limbo.

Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 3mo ago

NEW: The Trump administration has deported thousands of Cubans, many of them older adults, to Mexico, denying them due process & leaving many stranded without access to basic services. “They’re casting us aside to die,” said Harold A. (pseudonym), a 58-year-old Cuban national. 🧵⤵️

Türk: States must halt involuntary returns to Afghanistan www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

Türk: States must halt involuntary returns to Afghanistan

GENEVA – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday warned against the continuing trend of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan...

ohchr.org

Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 3mo ago

“South African authorities should not allow vigilante groups to violently target foreign nationals and instead need to protect them and bring those who harm them to justice.” Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka, South Africa researcher @hrw.org. www.hrw.org/news/2026/05...

South Africa: New Waves of Xenophobic Attacks

Vigilantes in South Africa have carried out violent xenophobic attacks targeting African and Asian foreign nationals in recent weeks, with little or insufficient apparent response from the police and ...

hrw.org

Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Tunisia has gone out of its way to shut down almost all available aid or protection for refugees & asylum seekers. The authorities should end this abusive prosecution, and allow groups to carry out humanitarian work. @khawaja.bsky.social, deputy MENA director @hrw.org. www.hrw.org/news/2026/05...

Tunisia: End Abusive Prosecution of Refugee Aid Workers

Five employees of the Tunisian Council for Refugees will stand trial on May 13, 2026, after appealing criminal sentences for their work assisting asylum seekers and refugees.

hrw.org

Nadia Hardman @nadiahardman.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🚨#SaudiArabia is executing #Ethiopian migrants for non violent drug-related offences after unfair trials where detainees were beaten. 65 others await the death penalty. Saudi Arabia’s partners should urgently intervene before it is too late. www.hrw.org/news/2026/04...

Nadia Hardman @nadiahardman.bsky.social · 5mo ago

#Israel's mass displacement in #Lebanon follows the same strategy used in Gaza, the West Bank and Syria. Forced displacement of civilians, widespread destruction and prevention of return. In short, potential war crimes. My opinion for @AJEnglish: aje.news/gn8v60

Israel’s displacement of civilians in Lebanon is a possible war crime

The Israeli tactics of mass expulsion of Lebanese civilians risk directly violating international law.

aje.news

"By treating solidarity as potential criminal conduct and the search for accountability as a threat, the Greek government is undermining democratic checks and balances." @evacosse.bsky.social @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Greece Continues Its Relentless Assault on Civil Society

The recent acquittal of 24 humanitarian workers by a court in Lesbos, in what the European Parliament called the “largest case of criminalization of solidarity in Europe”, should have been a turning p...

hrw.org

"While the latest financial crisis is threatening to decimate the UN’s human rights work, it has been chronically & significantly underfunded for many years – receiving less than 1% of the UN budget despite human rights being one of the organization’s three 'pillars.'” www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

UN Financial Crisis Threatens to Halt Human Rights Work

In Geneva on 9 February, the United Nations deputy human rights chief gave an alarming update on the dramatic impact of the financial crisis on the UN’s ability to promote and protect human rights aro...

hrw.org

Judges heard testimony from Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State about children being shot, stabbed, and thrown in fires, as well as gang rape and families forced into burning buildings, atrocities that the UN, @hrw.org Human Rights Watch & others had previously reported. www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

Rohingya Genocide Case Moves to Judgment

On January 29, the three-week hearings on the merits of Gambia’s genocide case against Myanmar before the International Court of Justice came to a close.

hrw.org

Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 7mo ago

The Greek govt introduced an immigration bill that explicitly links humanitarian workers w/ criminal conduct, when in reality they R helping people in distress trying to reach Greece. Parliament should reject these provisions & protect civic space. @evacosse.bsky.social www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

Greek Immigration Bill Demonizes Civil Society

The Greek government has introduced an immigration bill with measures that explicitly link nongovernmental groups and humanitarian workers with criminal conduct, when in reality they are helping peopl...

hrw.org

The US Board of Immigration Appeals ruled on Jan 9 that the persecution standard for asylum was not met for a newscaster who had received two written death threats, one with 3 bullets. Going forward, it appears only death threats that are actually carried out will be sufficient evidence for asylum.

justice.gov

Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 7mo ago

My initial thoughts on the possible refugee fallout of US intervention in Venezuela, although this could go any number of ways. In short, no one should be forcibly returned, even if some voluntarily go home. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

What Maduro’s ouster means for Trump’s mass deportation campaign

Trump said many Venezuelan immigrants “want to go back.” Will Maduro’s removal spark a return — or another exodus?

washingtonpost.com

Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 8mo ago

On Sunday, @60minutes.bsky.social pulled a segment on torture against US deportees in CECOT, El Salvador's mega prison. Curious what the story said? Read HRW and @cristosal.bsky.social's report: www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

US/El Salvador: Torture of Venezuelan Deportees

The Venezuelan nationals the US government sent to El Salvador in March and April were tortured and subjected to other abuses, including sexual violence.

hrw.org

“Allowing masked, unidentified agents to roam communities & apprehend people w/out identifying themselves erodes trust in the rule of law & creates a dangerous vacuum where abuses can flourish, exacerbating the brutality of the arrests.” @belkiswille.bsky.social @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

US: Masked Federal Agents Undermine Rule of Law

United States federal immigration enforcement agents now commonly operate masked and without visible identification, compounding the abusive and unaccountable nature of the Trump administration’s mass...

hrw.org

The groundless case against humanitarian workers facing 20 years in prison in Greece. Commentary from my @hrw.org colleagues @evacosse.bsky.social and @billvanesveld.bsky.social www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

Humanitarians’ Baseless Trial in Greece

Two dozen humanitarian workers facing 20 years in prison finally got their day in court on December 4 and 5 on the Greek island of Lesbos after a seven-year wait.

hrw.org

Nothing meaningfully links the 19 nationalities for whom entry & immigration processing have been stopped except the administration’s opportunistic stigmatization and exclusion of people based on where they were born. -- Tanya Greene, US Program director @hrw.org. www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

US: Processing Freeze Scapegoats Immigrants, Asylum Seekers

The Trump administration’s latest actions on immigration policy appear to be based on punitive hostility toward people of particular nationalities and to carry an unmistakable current of racism as wel...

hrw.org

“The Thai government has blatantly violated the country’s anti-torture law & its international legal obligations by returning Y Quynh Bdap to Vietnam, where he faces...the risk of torture.” @elainepearson.bsky.social, Asia director at Human Rights Watch @hrw.org. www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

Thailand: Montagnard Activist Extradited to Vietnam

Thai authorities forcibly returned to Vietnam the prominent Montagnard human rights activist Y Quynh Bdap, putting him at risk of torture and other serious abuses.

hrw.org

"If the Trump administration is serious about combatting crime, it will expand and improve visa programs that allow victims to come forward without fear of deportation.” Sara Darehshori, consultant to Human Rights Watch @HRW.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

US: Immigration Policy Undermines Public Safety

The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics undercutting protection for undocumented crime survivors weakens law enforcement’s ability to investigate and prosecute crimes.

hrw.org

"Homeland Security’s misstatements in revoking TPS for people from Myanmar are so egregious that it is hard to imagine who would believe them. Perhaps no one was expected to." My @hrw.org colleague John Sifton on the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Myanmar. www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

Myanmar is Safe?

Is it safe to return to a country wracked by an abusive armed conflict, widespread atrocities, and targeted ethnic violence, including war crimes and crimes against humanity?

hrw.org