News Flash
WASHINGTON, April 29, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Nine high-profile US and international nonprofits called Monday for more rigorous opposition to President Donald Trump's agenda, especially concerning human rights, on the eve of his 100th day in office.
The US political opposition has struggled to articulate a coherent message or unify around priorities and tactics as it grapples with how to deal with Trump following his return to the White House.
During the billionaire's first three months in office he has pushed the limits of presidential power, enacting a wide-ranging agenda against undocumented migrants and the press among other groups, as well as hobbling academic research in multiple fields.
These actions "aren't just an attack on individual institutions or communities" but rather "an attack generally on human rights," Amanda Klasing of Amnesty International said during a press conference with eight other NGOs.
Organizations ranging from the family-planning-focused Center for Reproductive Rights to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate crimes, participated in the press event.
The groups drew up an alarming assessment of Trump's first hundred days, which they said had put individual freedoms and reproductive rights on the line, as well as seen attacks on LGBTQ and migrant communities.
"In the first 100 days the Trump administration has launched a frontal attack on free speech," said Hadar Harris of Pen America, a free speech NGO.
"They're doing this by banning words, criminalizing ideas, restricting learning and teaching and erasing history and identity," Harris said.