Recent actions by the Trump administration, including deep cuts to international aid and a sweeping immigration crackdown, have drawn sharp criticism from United Nations officials, who warn the U.S. may be violating international law.
Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, voiced his concerns this week over the U.S. policy of deporting migrants and asylum seekers to countries where they could face harm. He said the administration's approach is inconsistent with international legal principles designed to protect refugees.
"I am worried that the current debate, in Europe for example. and some current deportation practices, such as in the United States, address real challenges in manners not consistent with international law," Grandi said on Oct. 7, as reported by The Associated Press.
Grandi also criticized what he described as a growing disregard for international law among developed nations and emphasized that poorer countries continue to carry most of the global refugee burden. Speaking at the opening of UNHCR's executive committee, he urged world leaders not to use politics or nationalism as an excuse to dismantle long-standing protections for displaced people.
"Pressures to reform asylum are not made in good faith, but represent yet another attack on international solidarity, at the time when many countries continue to welcome refugees," Grandi said.
Grandi's warning comes as the U.N. refugee agency itself faces major setbacks. As a result of sharp U.S. funding cuts under the "Big Beautiful Bill" passed in July, the UNHCR was forced to eliminate nearly 5,000 jobs this year — almost a quarter of its global workforce.
"This was certainly not an easy year for any of us," Grandi said.
A pattern of criticism from U.N. officials
This isn't the first time the Trump administration's immigration policies have drawn criticism from U.N. officials. In May, Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, raised alarms over the scale and conditions of U.S. deportations.
Türk said his office had received reports from lawyers and families alleging serious human rights violations, including lack of due process, arbitrary detention, and deportations that exposed individuals to torture or other irreparable harm.
"This situation raises serious concerns regarding a wide array of rights that are fundamental to both U.S. and international law," Türk said.
The U.N.'s warnings come amid a broader ideological clash. At the U.N. General Assembly in September, President Trump delivered a speech denouncing the U.N.'s "globalist migration agenda," and called on countries to close their borders and expel foreigners.
"It's time to end the failed experiment of open borders," Trump said, according to The Guardian. "You have to end it now. Your countries are going to hell."
The administration also claimed the global asylum system has been abused and needs to be overhauled.
In response to the criticism, U.S. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott defended the administration's stance, framing Trump's remarks as a rejection of international pressure.
"Our actions are consistent with U.S. law and the will of the American people, who demand secure borders and a lawful immigration system," Pigott said. He added that Trump's U.N. speech was "a call to action against the destructive policies promoting mass and illegal migration that globalist bureaucrats have pushed for years."
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