New Congress Told: Curb Trump’s Abuses or Expect More

The new US Congress must act forcefully to protect human rights at home and abroad, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said, urging lawmakers to use their oversight powers against the Trump administration. Democrats won majorities in both the House and Senate in the November 3, 2026 midterm elections. The new Congress convenes at what HRW calls a critical moment for human rights. “Lawmakers should challenge the Trump administration’s many abuses, embrace the oversight authority provided to Congress, and act decisively to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights,” said Michael García Bochenek, HRW’s interim US program director. HRW urged Congress to address abuses in immigration enforcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). These abuses include arbitrary detention, serious injuries, and unlawful killings, HRW said. The group called on Congress to rebuild transparency and oversight mechanisms, set meaningful limits on excessive force, and hold officials accountable for violations committed over the past two years. Representative Robert Garcia, the incoming chair of the House oversight committee, has said his focus will include “DHS and ICE abuses.” He warned responsible officials to “lawyer up.” “Congress should restore gutted oversight bodies to full force,” Bochenek said. “Without comprehensive oversight and accountability, abusive practices will most likely continue with impunity.” HRW also said Congress should provide remedies for harms committed during Trump’s second term, including discrimination in voting, policing, education, and housing. To rebuild the federal civil rights infrastructure, Congress should hold oversight hearings on the collapse of enforcement at the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, HRW said. It should direct funding to civil rights enforcement and pass legislation allowing individuals to sue under the Civil Rights Act for disparate impact claims. HRW criticized Congress for failing to safeguard against administration actions, including alleged violations of the laws of war in Iran and continued lethal strikes on boats in the Pacific and Caribbean that have resulted in over 240 extrajudicial killings. Congress also oversaw cuts to US foreign assistance and approved a bill allowing the government to claw back about $9 billion in previously approved aid, including support for human rights. The new Congress should look for ways to restore foreign assistance funding, particularly for human rights programs, in future appropriations, HRW said. HRW also urged Congress to demand that the Department of Defense release its report on a strike on a primary school in Minab in southern Iran that killed over 150 people, most of them children. Lawmakers should examine whether dismantled civilian harm mitigation structures contributed to other unlawful strikes. The Trump administration has removed tens of thousands of third-country nationals to countries where they faced human rights violations and risk of further return to persecution, HRW said. It sent Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador’s CECOT prison, where they were systematically tortured and subjected to other abuses, including sexual violence. Congress should reassert scrutiny over foreign policy and security cooperation, HRW said. “Incoming members of Congress should strengthen the institution’s commitment to protect human rights for every person in the United States,” Bochenek said.