Trump’s ‘Hate Speech’ Caused Human Rights Violations, UN Says

by Mitti Hicks

March 16, 2026

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) called on the United States to meet its obligations under international agreements to combat racism and discrimination.

A United Nations (UN) watchdog is accusing President Donald Trump and other U.S. political leaders of using “racist hate speech” against migrants and overseeing policies that have led to “grave human rights violations.”

In a decision issued on Wednesday, the Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) called on the United States to meet its obligations under international agreements to combat racism and discrimination.

CERD is a panel of 18 independent experts. In its ruling, CERD said it was deeply disturbed by the use of harmful stereotypes and dehumanizing language being used to target migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

“Portraying them as criminals or as a burden, by politicians and influential public figures at the highest level, particularly the President, may incite racial discrimination and hate crimes,” the panel said in a news release.

The statement marked a rare instance in which CERD directly criticized remarks made by a sitting U.S. president, The Associated Press reports.

UN Cites Concerns About Hate Speech, Migration Crackdown

According to the Associated Press, committee members attributed a reported rise in racial discrimination to “racist hate speech” targeting those groups but did not pinpoint a specific data set. In addition to speech, the panel said it’s also concerned about the impact of politicians and other public figures weaponizing stereotypes to incite hate crimes and discrimination.

The panel documented concerns about measures the Trump administration has introduced to crack down on migration, including systematic racial profiling by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and border patrol agencies, and “violent methods.” According to the report, at least eight people have died since January 2026 in incidents linked to immigration enforcement.

CERD also expressed concern about the number of migrants held in detention facilities. According to the report, the number of people detained increased from about 40,000 in late 2024 to about 73,000 at the beginning of 2026. The Trump administration has deported approximately 675,000 migrants since his return to office.

It doesn’t appear that the Trump administration will make any changes. The White House rejected the assessment, saying the UN panel is out of touch with conditions in the United States.

“This United Nations assessment is just as useless as their broken escalator, and their extreme bias continues to prove why no one takes them seriously,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said. “No one cares what the biased United Nations’ so-called ‘experts’ think, because Americans are living in a safer, stronger country than ever before.”

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