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Bill Frelick

@billfrelick.bsky.social
2.8K followers 803 following 185 posts

Director, Refugee and Migrant Rights Division, Human Rights Watch

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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“I did not get to hug my son. My wife is now alone with the rent, the bills, and our child. She tells me that he still waits for me and asks whether I will be there when he comes home from school.” -- "Pierre," a TPS holder, deported to Haiti. www.hrw.org/news/2026/09...
hrw.org
Children in Anguish as Immigration Arrests Surge
Teresa M., a 30-year-old Guatemalan woman, had just left home for her job manufacturing cabinets when she was stopped by Alabama police in June and asked about her immigration status. A colleague was ...
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
HRW's first-hand account from Cap-Haïtien on US deportations to Haiti and how they endanger lives: www.hrw.org/news/2026/09...
hrw.org
US: Deportations to Haiti Endanger Lives
Since ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti in late July 2026, US authorities have deported hundreds of Haitians back to their country, where they face threats to their lives and safety an...
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 16/09/2026
"I was not counted as a human being. I was counted, like a number, like ‘ah 16!’. They never called me by my name." Since 2001, Australia has forcibly transferred more than 5,000 asylum seekers to offshore detention, causing profound harm to those seeking refuge. Learn more: bit.ly/4ixAWzu
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 15/07/2026
📣 Academy Award–nominated actor and human rights advocate @markruffalo.bsky.social has joined forces with HRW, @nowheremedia.bsky.social, and @weareagog.bsky.social to narrate "Solwata," a new documentary spotlighting the human consequences of climate change in the Pacific nation of Solomon Islands.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Please read this first-hand account from my @hrw.org colleague @nathalyeco.bsky.social who met Haitians as they first set foot back in Haiti after losing TPS: “They Will Kill Me”: Haitian Deportees from U.S. Face Fear, Uncertainty www.justsecurity.org/157194/haiti...
justsecurity.org
“They Will Kill Me”: Haitian Deportees from U.S. Face Fear, Uncertainty
Haitians deported from the United States face the threat of widespread gang violence, poverty, and instability.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Australia’s offshore detention policy has caused profound harm to people seeking refuge since its introduction 25 years ago. Rather than abiding by its int'l legal obligations, Australia has hardened its abusive policies, contributing to a global erosion of refugee law. www.hrw.org/news/2026/09...
hrw.org
Australia: 25 Years of Abusive Offshore Detention
The Australian government has caused thousands of people seeking asylum to suffer grave abuses under its offshore detention system, which began in September 2001.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Diplomatic Assurances on torture are not worth the paper they're printed on. My commentary about the US deporting a Mexican man at serious risk of torture on the basis of a diplomatic assurance that he won't be tortured: www.hrw.org/news/2026/08...
hrw.org
Not Even Risk of Torture Deters Trump Administration Deportations
A US federal judge ordered the US government on August 21 to take back a Mexican man the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had deported to Mexico based on a diplomatic assurance from the Mexican g...
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Every day, another appalling story about the Trump administration deporting people to danger. Here's my commentary on the latest: www.hrw.org/news/2026/08...
hrw.org
Not Even Risk of Torture Deters Trump Administration Deportations
A US federal judge ordered the US government on August 21 to take back a Mexican man the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had deported to Mexico based on a diplomatic assurance from the Mexican g...
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sunderjhrw.bsky.social @sunderjhrw.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Spain has finally started sheltering thousands of migrants & asylum seekers who lived outdoors for 3 weeks in Ceuta. Many still need adequate shelter & food, and all of them need fair, individual assessments. Our report after a four-day mission to Ceuta: www.hrw.org/news/2026/08...
hrw.org
Spain: Humanitarian and Rights Crisis in Ceuta
The Spanish government and local authorities in its North African enclave Ceuta should act urgently to provide adequate shelter to all migrants and asylum seekers living unsheltered since entering Ceu...
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
“Settlers shoot, attack, and expel Palestinians from their land, and the state provides the weapons, the legal cover, and the budget to do it.” Sarah Sanbar, acting Israel and Palestine researcher at @hrw.org. www.hrw.org/news/2026/08...
hrw.org
West Bank: Israel-Backed Settler Violence Drives Displacement
Attacks by settlers in the occupied West Bank are increasingly driving the forced displacement of Palestinian communities, with dozens at risk of erasure.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
"Nearly five years after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, one issue should be beyond dispute: Afghanistan is not safe for anyone forcibly returned there." Commentary from my @hrw.org colleague @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social. thehill.com/opinion/inte...
thehill.com
No one should be sent back to Taliban rule
It’s the height of hypocrisy to condemn Taliban abuses in one breath and cooperate in sending people back to them in the next.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Thai authorities should halt the imminent deportation of 26 ethnic Karen villagers from Phetchaburi province to Myanmar and release them from immigration detention. www.hrw.org/news/2026/08...
hrw.org
Thailand: Ethnic Karen Face Deportation to Myanmar
Thai authorities should halt the imminent deportation of 26 ethnic Karen villagers from Phetchaburi province to Myanmar and release them from immigration detention.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
US Officials Sound Alarm on Haiti While Preparing to Deport Haitians There www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...
hrw.org
US Officials Sound Alarm on Haiti While Preparing to Deport Haitians There
Fresh from a trip to Haiti, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz offered the UN Security Council on July 20 a harrowing account of the “kill zone” he said Port-au-Prince has become.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
How is it that State Dept's travel advisory certifies Haiti as too dangerous to travel to while preparing to deport some 350,000 Haitians there? My commentary: www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...
hrw.org
US Officials Sound Alarm on Haiti While Preparing to Deport Haitians There
Fresh from a trip to Haiti, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz offered the UN Security Council on July 20 a harrowing account of the “kill zone” he said Port-au-Prince has become.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
New @hrw.org: #Egypt is escalating arrests, deportations of #refugees, asylum seekers, targeting many whose residency expired because of govt delays in processing renewals. Bureaucratic failure should never be grounds for detention and deportation. www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...
hrw.org
Egypt: Refugees, Asylum Seekers Arrested, Deported
Many refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt, mostly from Sudan and South Sudan, have faced a months-long campaign of arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention, and deportation, Human Rights Watch said today....
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
My @HRW.org colleague, Lauren Seibert, comments on why African countries should not accept third country nationals being deported from the United States. africanarguments.org/2026/07/afri...
africanarguments.org
African States Shouldn’t Help the US Endanger Refugees | African Arguments
Disembarking at an airport in Cameroon a few weeks ago, two Cameroonian women shook with fear. They had fled their country over a year before to seek asylum in the United States, but were summarily de...
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
The Supreme Court hands Trump another brick in the wall to block asylum seekers--my thoughts. thehill.com/opinion/immi...
thehill.com
Supreme Court upholds Trump’s attack on asylum
Happy 250th birthday, America. The Golden Door is officially closed.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
“No one should be left to spend nights in an open field between 2 lines of armed border guards. India should end these brutal expulsions, and both govts should ensure that border management never again comes at the cost of basic human dignity.” Meenakshi Ganguly @HRW.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...
hrw.org
India: Ethnic Bengalis Unlawfully Expelled
Indian authorities are forcibly expelling ethnic Bengali residents, mostly Muslims from West Bengal state, to Bangladesh without basic due process.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
.@hrw.org is hiring an Externalization Researcher to investigate & expose human rights abuses relating to migrants, refugees & asylum seekers w/ an initial focus on US govt efforts to block entry or access to asylum & to externalize migration controls. Go to: job-boards.greenhouse.io/humanrightsw...
job-boards.greenhouse.io
Researcher, US Externalization
Multiple Locations Considered
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 27/05/2026
Read the full report.👇 www.hrw.org/news/2026/05...
hrw.org
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...
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 27/05/2026
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.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 27/05/2026
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.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 27/05/2026
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. 🧵⤵️
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Türk: States must halt involuntary returns to Afghanistan www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
ohchr.org
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...
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
“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...
hrw.org
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 ...
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
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...
hrw.org
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.
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Nadia Hardman @nadiahardman.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
🚨#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...
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Nadia Hardman @nadiahardman.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
#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
aje.news
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.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
"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...
hrw.org
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...
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
"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...
hrw.org
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...
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
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...
hrw.org
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.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
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...
hrw.org
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...
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
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
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
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/...
washingtonpost.com
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?
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 22/12/2025
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...
hrw.org
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.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
“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...
hrw.org
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...
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
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...
hrw.org
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.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
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...
hrw.org
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...
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
“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...
hrw.org
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.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
"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...
hrw.org
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.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
"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...
hrw.org
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?
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
The Cambodian government is failing to provide support to hundreds of thousands of migrant workers with microfinance debts who returned from Thailand because of hostilities in mid-2025. www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...
hrw.org
Cambodia: Returned Migrant Workers Face Hunger, Joblessness
The Cambodian government is failing to provide support to hundreds of thousands of migrant workers with microfinance debts who returned from Thailand because of hostilities in mid-2025.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Five employees of the Tunisian Council for Refugees will go on trial today amid a broader crackdown on civil society groups in Tunisia. They face up to 23 years in prison if convicted of the unfounded charges. www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...
hrw.org
Tunisia: Abusive Prosecutions of Refugee Group
Five employees of the Tunisian Council for Refugees will go on trial on November 24, 2025, amid a broader crackdown on civil society groups in Tunisia.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 20/11/2025
NEW: The Israeli government’s forced displacement of the populations of three West Bank refugee camps in January and February 2025 amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Read more: www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...
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Nadia Hardman @nadiahardman.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
🚨New @hrw.org report finds #Israel committed war crimes, crimes against humanity + ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Israel forcibly displaced 32,000 #Palestinian refugees from 3 refugee camps, prevented return + systematically destroyed parts of the camps.👇 hrw.org/node/392462
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
A resurgence of cholera in Haiti’s West department underscores the urgent need for coordinated, long-term action to restore basic water and sanitation systems. www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...
hrw.org
Haiti: Cholera Resurgence Threatens Vulnerable Communities
A resurgence of cholera in Haiti’s West department underscores the urgent need for coordinated, long-term action to restore basic water and sanitation systems.
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Belkis Wille @belkiswille.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
1/ 🚨 New @hrw.org report: Federal agents used excessive force against protesters in Illinois. Here’s what we found. 🧵https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/10/23/united-states-federal-agents-use-excessive-force-in-illinois
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Belkis Wille @belkiswille.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
🚨 NEW: @homelandgov.bsky.social federal agents used excessive force against protesters, medics, legal observers & journalists at numerous protests outside ICE facility in Illinois. This isn’t crowd control—it’s intimidation. Congress must act. 📢 Read the @hrw.org report: www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...
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David Storey @davidstoreygeog.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
"The Trump administration will prioritize the immigration of people who oppose the immigration of other people"!! @billfrelick.bsky.social @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...
hrw.org
For the US, a 180-Degree Turn on Refugees
The Trump administration is poised to mount a two-pronged attack on refugee resettlement.
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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Malaysian authorities should press Myanmar’s junta to free Thuzar Maung and her family. They should investigate the abduction of Thuzar Maung and her family from their home in Kuala Lumpur, which may amount to transnational repression. @hrw.org @elainepearson.bsky.social www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...
hrw.org
Malaysia: Abducted Refugee Detained in Myanmar
The Malaysian government should press Myanmar’s junta for the immediate release of a refugee family abducted from Kuala Lumpur in July 2023.
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