GENEVA, Jan 23: The United Nations rights chief voiced astonishment Friday at US authorities' "now-routine abuse" of migrants, urging Washington to "end practices that are tearing apart families".
Volker Turk called on the United States to ensure that its migration policies and enforcement practices respect human dignity and due process rights, slamming the "dehumanising portrayal and harmful treatment of migrants and refugees".
"I am astounded by the now-routine abuse and denigration of migrants and refugees," he said in a statement, asking: "Where is the concern for their dignity, and our common humanity?"
Thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been deployed to Democratic-led Minneapolis, as the Republican administration of President Donald Trump presses its campaign to deport what it says are millions of illegal immigrants across the country.
Staying in shape
On Thursday, Democrats and local officials in Minneapolis expressed outrage at the detention of a five-year-old boy in the massive immigration crackdown.
Minneapolis has been rocked by increasingly tense protests since federal agents shot and killed US citizen Renee Good there on January 7, even as Trump and his officials quickly defended the agent's actions as legitimate self-defence.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights deplored the use of large-scale enforcement operations by US immigration and other agents who he said were repeatedly using apparently unnecessary or disproportionate force.
"Under international law, the intentional use of lethal force is only permissible as a measure of last resort against an individual representing an imminent threat to life," Turk stressed.
He warned that numerous migration policies being implemented by US authorities were resulting in arbitrary and unlawful arrests and detentions, as well as flawed removal decisions.
"Individuals are being surveilled and detained, sometimes violently, including at hospitals, churches, mosques, courthouses, markets, schools, and even within their own homes, often solely on mere suspicion of being undocumented migrants," Turk said.
"Those who dare to speak up or protest peacefully against heavy-handed immigration raids are vilified and threatened by officials, and on occasion subjected to arbitrary violence themselves."
He also highlighted that many arrests, detentions, and expulsions occur without efforts to assess and maintain family unity, exposing especially children to risks of severe and long-term harm.
"I call on the administration to end practices that are tearing apart families," he said.
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