THE US DEPARTMENT OF STATE DELETES THE HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTING GATEWAY, AND DUFFY THREATENS TO PULL $160 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS FROM CALIFORNIA OVER ALLEGED NONCITIZEN DRIVER’S LICENSES
- Senior Editor
- Oct 30
- 3 min read
October 23-29, 2025 | Issue 41 - NORTHCOM Team
Martina Lopez Hernandez, Valentina Gonzalez, Candela Echeverria, Chiara Michieli, Jacob Robison
Clémence Van Damme, Senior Editor
Deactivated Website[1]
Date: October 23, 2025
Location: USA
Parties involved: USA; US government; US Department of State (DOS); US military; US civilian groups; social leaders; Non governmental organizations (NGOs); US online platform for reporting human rights violations by US military units Human Rights Reporting Gateway (HRG); US aid recipient countries; US-backed militaries in aid recipient countries; victims in aid recipient countries; locals from US aid recipient countries; states whose US-backed militaries have engaged in human rights violations; citizens in countries where US-backed militaries have engaged in human rights violations; Colombia; human rights compliance oversight national ombudsman institutions
The event: The DOS deleted the HRG.[2]
Analysis & Implications:
The removal of the HRG will very likely reduce US civilian oversight of human rights violations committed by US-backed militaries in aid recipient countries, very likely leading to relaxed human rights standards and increased local harm. The removal will very likely increase bureaucratic steps to file human rights complaints, requiring greater language skills, time, financial resources, and diplomatic or NGO support, which will likely discourage victims in aid recipient countries from participating in the reporting process. The decrease in reports will very likely weaken evidence-based pressure from US civilian groups, social leaders, and NGOs demanding accountability from the US government for the impact of military aid, very likely leading to relaxed human rights considerations in determining aid recipient countries' eligibility. US-backed militaries will likely face decreased accountability and reduced incentives to comply with human rights standards, very likely increasing the risk of disproportionate responses by these forces, likely increasing local harm and casualties.
Eliminating the HRG will very likely strain Washington’s relationships with states whose US-backed militaries have engaged in human rights violations, likely resulting in those countries introducing new oversight systems. States where US-backed forces perpetrated human rights abuses, such as Colombia, will likely denounce the removal of the HRG via diplomatic channels, likely deeming it as weakening their ability to protect their citizens from foreign military misconduct. Those countries will very likely respond by reinforcing independent compliance and accountability frameworks to monitor US-backed forces and ensure adherence to human rights standards, such as national ombudsman institutions. Such mechanisms will very likely fuel a cycle of diminished trust, as Washington will very likely perceive these measures as a lack of confidence in its military abroad.
Date: October 27, 2025
Location: California, USA
Parties involved: USA; US Department of Transportation (DOT); US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy; California state government; California law enforcement; noncitizen residents in California; noncitizen workers; drivers in California’s urban areas; migrant workers in the US trucking sector
The event: Duffy stated he will revoke $160 million in federal funds from California over the alleged issuing of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to noncitizens.[3]
Analysis & Implications:
The DOT's measure will very likely restrict migrant workers' access to the transportation sector in California, likely violating human rights standards by creating unequal treatment based on migration status. This unequal treatment will very likely emerge because the DOT will likely tie CDL job eligibility to citizenship rather than to workers' actual skills or security records, very likely making their legal status the determining factor for employment. By establishing citizenship as the primary criterion, this policy will likely normalize the systematic exclusion of qualified non-citizens from lawful transportation employment, very likely transforming what should be skills-based hiring into structural discrimination. This structural discrimination will likely weaken non-citizen workers' rights to work under fair conditions and protection from unemployment, very likely narrowing broader US compliance with international labor and equality standards in the economic and social field.
The withdrawal of federal funding will very unlikely improve road safety, likely negatively impacting the enforcement of commercial transport safety regulations in California. The revocation of MOT funding, including the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program grant, will likely reduce law enforcement's ability to perform roadside investigations and develop safety programs statewide, very likely leading to fewer controls on commercial motor vehicles in California. Fewer controls will likely result in the failure to detect safety infractions, allowing more large trucks and buses to circulate without adequate safety features and very likely increasing the risk of fatal highway crashes. To compensate for the lack of federal funding, the California state government will likely divert resources from other initiatives, such as education programs in metropolitan areas, with a roughly even chance that urban drivers will face increased risks due to weakened safety measures.
[1] Prohibited Webpage, generated by a third party image database
[2] US axes website for reporting human rights abuses by US-armed foreign forces, BBC, October 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx30vnwd4do
[3] Transportation secretary says he will pull $160M from California over noncitizen truck licenses, NBC News, October 2025,
