For me, the worst part about the Trump Administration's immigration policies is not that they are detaining and deporting more people, or that they are changing the rules to make immigration more difficult and expensive. For me, the worst part is that the Administration constantly lies about non-citizens: that they are criminals, that come to the U.S. to steal our resources, that they don't contribute to our country, that they don't really face persecution back home.

The newest iteration of the Administration's mendacity is the State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which is meant to be a summary of human rights conditions in each country around the world (except for our own country, of course). These reports have long included information about a wide range of problematic behavior, including the treatment of women, LGBT individuals, and other vulnerable people.

The newest Reports, released earlier this week, contain little information about the treatment of women and, as far as I can tell, no mention what-so-ever about the persecution of sexual minorities. The issue for asylum seekers is that Immigration Judges and Asylum Officers rely on these Reports when they make their decisions. If the Reports minimize human rights abuses, it becomes more difficult to obtain asylum.

The problem is not confined to women and sexual minorities. The new State Department Reports have also removed sections on disabled people, political participation, and government corruption, among others. Just in terms of pages, the 2024 Reports are much shorter than the 2023 Reports. For example, the 2023 Ethiopia Report is 68 pages; the 2024 Ethiopia Report is only 28 pages. The 2023 Pakistan Report is 100 pages; the 2024 Pakistan Report is 27 pages. The 2023 Russia Report is 101 pages, and the 2024 Russia Report is 41 pages. Almost by definition, shorter Reports equate to less evidence of human rights abuses.

Certain vulnerable groups have been subject to particularly egregious treatment in the Reports. For example, last year's Report on Honduras mentions "women" 18 times, including this: "The Ministry of Security reported 229 violent women deaths from January to June, a nearly 49 percent increase compared with the same period in 2022." The same Report has 11 references to LGBT individuals, including that "NGOs reported 47 violent deaths and 83 hate crimes against LGBTQI+ persons as of November" 2023. The new 2024 Report mentions "women" only two times. One is a general reference to criminals targeting many vulnerable people, including women. The other is a reference to women and the minimum wage. The 2024 Report on Honduras has no references at all to LGBT people.

Another example is the 2023 Report on Uganda, which lists the term "LGBTQ+" 45 times, including statements such as, "laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults... were enforced," "Human rights activists reported numerous instances of state and nonstate actor violence and harassment against LGBTQI+ persons and noted authorities did not adequately investigate the cases," and "NGOs... reported 306 abuses against LGBTQI+ persons between January and August, with 25 of those abuses conducted by state actors." By contrast, the 2024 Report references LGBT individuals exactly zero times.

In addition, it seems that the Reports have been politicized to align with President Trump's agenda. The Report for El Salvador, whose authoritarian leader is a Trump ally, indicates that "There were no credible reports of significant human rights abuses." However, the 2023 Report lists many human rights abuses, including "unlawful or arbitrary killings; enforced disappearance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions [and] arbitrary arrest or detention...." The Report for Brazil, which has cracked down on a former president and Trump ally who staged his own "January 6" type attack on the capital, states that the "human rights situation in Brazil declined during the year" and that the "government undermined democratic debate by restricting access to online content deemed to 'undermine democracy,' disproportionately suppressing the speech of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro as well as journalists and elected politicians...." In short, it seems that Mr. Trump's allies get a pass, while his adversaries are subject to extra scrutiny.

The collective effect of all these changes is to make the State Department Reports much less credible as a source for human rights information. It also sadly demonstrates our country's lack of concern for human rights. For asylum seekers, the new Reports make it more difficult to obtain protection in our country.

So what can asylum seekers do?

Primarily, they will have to gather additional, more accurate, human rights evidence from other sources. Some helpful resources include, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, the United Kingdom Country Policy and Information Notes, and the U.S. State Department Travel Advisories, which are meant for U.S. citizens traveling abroad and include more honest assessments of foreign country conditions. Other country reports are issued by Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, Open Doors (monitoring persecution of Christians), Immigration Equality (for LGBT country conditions), and the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (information about the persecution of women; registration is required). There are many other sources of information as well, including from country-specific organizations and news articles. If you can't find what you need online, you might also consider using an expert witness.

The State Department Reports represent yet another example of our government institutions debasing themselves in slavish devotion to the President's agenda. While the new Reports are bad news for asylum seekers, there are many other sources for more honest reporting on country conditions. Asylum seekers will need to rely on those sources to counter the anodyne State Department Reports, and to support their claims for protection.

Originally posted on the Asylumist: www.Asylumist.com