The Trump administration's first 100 days in office have been a relentless barrage of actions that violate, threaten, or undermine the human rights of people in the United States and abroad, Human Rights Watch said today. To illustrate the breadth and depth of the damage done since Donald Trump took office on January 20, 2025, Human Rights Watch released a list of 100 harmful actions during these 100 days.
"In just 100 days, the Trump administration has inflicted enormous damage to human rights in the United States and around the world," said Tanya Greene, US program director at Human Rights Watch. "We are deeply concerned that these attacks on fundamental freedoms will continue unabated."
The Human Rights Watch compilation of harm from the first 100 days of the Trump administration includes attacks on free speech; the rights of asylum seekers and immigrants; health, environmental, and social protections; education; foreign aid and humanitarian assistance; and the rule of law.
The Trump Administration's Assault on Rights in the United States and Abroad
Click here to view the list of human rights harms
Since January, the administration has unlawfully transferred Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national to his home country, deported other immigrants to El Salvador under circumstances that amount to enforced disappearance, and removed asylum seekers with various nationalities to Panama and Costa Rica in violation of international law. The administration has also attacked the rights to freedom of speech and assembly, including by arbitrarily detaining and seeking to deport noncitizens because of their activism related to Palestine.
These damaging policies are reverberating globally as the Trump administration has slashed support for human rights beyond US borders. The administration abruptly ended US foreign aid programs, putting many people who were benefitting from them in life-threatening peril. The administration cut life-saving assistance for hundreds of thousands of people in conflict zones and walked away from longstanding efforts to support human rights defenders, independent journalists, and fact-finding groups, including those documenting unfolding atrocities.
Human Rights Watch is also tracking efforts by the administration that will enable racist practices. The Trump administration is putting new pressure on important work to ensure people have access to the truth about US history and has carried out sharp new attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, which are important tools to promote equality of treatment, enshrined in human rights law and the 14th amendment of the US Constitution.
Many of the administration's actions are being challenged in court. Ordinary people in the United States and abroad are also expressing their opposition to them.
"Protests across the country point to the critical importance of basic rights and freedoms," Greene said. "People in the United States and abroad will need to rely on the same fundamental freedoms that are under attack to demonstrate their resistance and resilience."
