Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · Jul 30

Whether they perform surgery, pick fruit or tobacco, teach children, play music, or pack meat, immigrants' hands deserve dignity: not human rights violations.
#ConEstasManos #WithTheseHands

HRW shares this video in solidarity: www.youtube.com/watch?v=REXq...

With These Hands / Intro

YouTube video by SEIU California

www.youtube.com

1 44 120

Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · Jul 2

US President Donald Trump toured the newly opened immigration detention complex nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” this week.

By opening the complex, the US government is expanding a system already rife with inhumane conditions, neglect, and dehumanizing treatment.

23 92 180

Belkis Wille @belkiswille.bsky.social · May 22

🚨 New @hrw report: Russian attacks in Ukraine are killing more civilians in 2025 than last year.
Playgrounds. Apartments. Hotels. City centers.
No military targets. No warnings. Possible war crimes.
📄 Read the full report: www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...
Ukraine #WarCrimes #HumanRights

14 8

Families USA @familiesusa.bsky.social · May 15

Read the full blog for more, stay connected, stay involved, keep calling your representatives at 866-426-2631 and tell them to vote NO and keep their #HandsOffMedicaid! familiesusa.org/resources/ad...

Advocates Stand Together to Defend Medicaid: Key Takeaways from the E&C Markup - Families USA

Read our latest blog: Key takeaways from a major day of action as House GOP advances devastating Medicaid, ACA cuts.

familiesusa.org

1

Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · May 12

New @hrw.org report: a deep dive on the gig economy in the US, by @lenasimet.bsky.social, @amostoh.bsky.social + me. It looks at 7 major platform companies, the extractive business model, and a growing workforce reliant on precarious work that denies them hard-won rights. www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...

US: Major Companies Violate Gig Workers’ Rights

Major digital labor platforms, also known as gig companies, operating in the United States misclassify gig workers as independent contractors, denying them labor rights.

www.hrw.org

1 10 27

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · May 9

US: Don’t Forcibly Transfer Migrants to Libya
www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...

US: Don’t Forcibly Transfer Migrants to Libya

The United States should not forcibly transfer migrants to Libya, where inhumane detention conditions are well-documented, including torture, ill treatment, sexual assault, and unlawful killings.

www.hrw.org

2 3

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · May 9

Alien Enemies Act Doesn’t Belong on the Books in 2025
www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...

Alien Enemies Act Doesn’t Belong on the Books in 2025

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is not merely a relic of a darker era in American history—it is a live wire capable of short-circuiting rights protected by US constitution. The act’s recent invocation b...

www.hrw.org

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · May 8

NEW from #HRW: Without accountability mechanisms, "those with power may become tyrants and no one under their rule is free or safe." www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...

Authored by: @treywalk.bsky.social + John Raphling

President Trump’s Efforts to Defy Accountability

During the first three months of his administration, President Donald Trump has destroyed, captured, or marginalized institutions intended to check abuses of executive power.

www.hrw.org

5 3

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · May 6

The Alien Enemies Act doesn’t belong on the books in 2025, my colleague Akshaya Kumar in @JURISTnews argues the law offers a convenient excuse to circumvent due process, which President Trump is leveraging to supercharge his mass deportation machine.

www.jurist.org/commentary/2...

Alien Enemies Act Doesn’t Belong on the Books in 2025

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is not merely a relic of a darker era in American history—it is a live wire capable of short-circuiting rights protected by US constitution. The act's recent invocation b...

www.jurist.org

1

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · May 6

Civil Rights Watchdog under Assault by Trump Administration
www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...

Civil Rights Watchdog under Assault by Trump Administration

One of the most effective and enduring institutions won by the Civil Rights Movement – the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice – is under assault.

www.hrw.org

1

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · May 1

NEW from HRW: United States: Repeal the Alien Enemies Act www.hrw.org/report/2025/...

United States: Repeal the Alien Enemies Act

The 59-page report, “United States: Repeal the Alien Enemies Act, A Human Rights Argument,” describes how the Trump administration has utilized the act as a vehicle for its attempted end run around ba...

www.hrw.org

10 13

lamafakih.bsky.social @lamafakih.bsky.social · Apr 30

🚨 Indigenous leaders in #Guatemala are facing terrorism charges for participating in peaceful protests. It is a blatant attack on their rights, and it follows the footsteps of other abusive attorneys general in a.o. Venezuela and Nicaragua.
Read @hrw www.hrw.org/news/2025/04...

Guatemala: Indigenous Leaders Face Terrorism Charges

Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office has detained two Indigenous leaders on spurious terrorism charges tied to their participation in peaceful protests.

www.hrw.org

1

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · Apr 24

NEW from #HRW: Interactive feature cataloguing 100 human rights harms in Trump administration's first 100 days. www.hrw.org/feature/2025...

1 47 81

Frontera Federation @fronterafederation.bsky.social · Mar 28

The Frontera Federation Board, including Chris Rickerd, Karen Gonzalez, and Hooky Guajardo. /END

1

Frontera Federation @fronterafederation.bsky.social · Mar 28

Happy Birthday to Us, a thread: For too long, border residents and border crossers alike have been plagued by deadly and abusive over-policing and militarization. 1/

1 1

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · Mar 21

My colleague, Juanita Goebertus' excellent (and sobering) declaration on prisons in El Salvador filed in case challenging USG deportations there (J.G.G. v. Trump): www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

Human Rights Watch declaration on prison conditions in El Salvador for the J.G.G. v. Trump case

I, Juanita Goebertus, declare the following under 28 U.S.C. § 1746, and state that under penalty of perjury the following is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief:

www.hrw.org

5 45 71

Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · Mar 5

Today the US Congress introduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Congress should pass this important bill and strengthen the right to vote in the US. More from HRW's Trey Walk ⤵️

8 47 140

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · Feb 28

This week, the Trump administration announced it will require undocumented immigrants in the #US to register with the govt. This move will likely create further stigmatization and criminalization and facilitate mass arrests. Read our latest here: www.hrw.org/news/2025/02...

1 2

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · Feb 13

📣 NEW from @HRW: Car chases by TX troopers and local sheriffs/police killed at least 106 people (incl. bystanders and children) + injured 301 in Texas’ dangerous Operation Lone Star. Trump policies to increase this type of enforcement will entrench the chaos and harm. www.hrw.org/news/2025/02...

US: Texas Vehicle Pursuits Kill At Least 106, Injure 301

Vehicle pursuits by Texas state troopers and local law enforcement have killed at least 106 people and injured 301 people in counties participating in Texas’ Operation Lone Star (OLS) since the progra...

www.hrw.org

1 17 24

Bob Libal @blibal.bsky.social · Feb 13

NEW today from me & @hrw.org:

Vehicle pursuits by TX troopers and local law enforcement have killed at least 106 people and injured 301 in counties participating in Texas’ Operation Lone Star.

Reckless and high speed pursuits often occur in sensitive areas, in neighborhoods, & near schools.

US: Texas Vehicle Pursuits Kill At Least 106, Injure 301

Vehicle pursuits by Texas state troopers and local law enforcement have killed at least 106 people and injured 301 people in counties participating in Texas’ Operation Lone Star (OLS) since the progra...

www.hrw.org

1 20 24

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · Feb 11

Join the virtual event hosted by @UnlockTheBoxNow and @HumanRightsWatch: 'Solitary Confinement: A Human Rights Crisis in the United States' on February 20, 2025, at 8pm EST / 5pm PST!

👉 Register for access here (tickets are free): bit.ly/40DHG5q!

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · Feb 6

Out-of-date 1872 US mining law and its permitting process must be reformed to respect Indigenous peoples’ human rights. 4/4

6 11

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · Feb 6

With the 18,000 acre project under construction and fenced off, Indigenous peoples cannot freely access the land. 3/4

1 4 9

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · Feb 6

The land at Thacker Pass has sacred status for Indigenous peoples. It’s also reportedly the largest measured lithium reserve in the world. 2/4

1 2 8

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · Feb 6

📢 NEW: The US government permitted Nevada’s Thacker Pass lithium mine without prior consent from even a single Tribe impacted, violating indigenous peoples’ human rights. Our HRW + ACLU report says, out today. 🧵 1/4

3 65 120

Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · Jan 29

NEW: The Mississippi state and US federal governments are failing to take steps to prevent cervical cancer deaths for Black women in the Mississippi Delta.

New report from the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice and Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org/news/2025/01...

2 36 130

Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · Jan 23

NEW from #HRW on Trump immigration EOs: "All people, regardless of immigration status or criminal history, have the right to fair treatment before the law and a chance to argue for their liberty and rights when they are detained or face deportation." www.hrw.org/news/2025/01...

Trump’s Executive Orders Promise Systemic Detentions, Deportations

In a nondescript parking lot in Tucson, Arizona, a fifth-grade boy waited in a car while his mom, Natalie Burke, went inside a US government office to sign some paperwork.

www.hrw.org

35 69

Michael Bochenek @michaelbochenek.bsky.social · Jan 23

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the citizenship executive order from taking effect.

“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades,” the judge said. “I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear as this one is.”

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01...

3 3

Michael Bochenek @michaelbochenek.bsky.social · Jan 23

President Donald Trump has effectively closed regular migration pathways, particularly for people fleeing conflict and abuse.

What happens next? Lawlessness and chaos, my colleague @billfrelick.bsky.social writes.

www.hrw.org/news/2025/01...

www.hrw.org

4 4

cbeckerhrw.bsky.social @cbeckerhrw.bsky.social · Jan 20

Today @hrw-fr.bsky.social published a statement recognizing the overlap of Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the presidential inauguration. Our statement reminds President Trump that human rights are sacred, and like his predecessors, he is responsible for applying those rights to all.

President Donald Trump and Martin Luther King Jr. (VOC photo and Library of Congress photo

1 7 8