The U.S. Department of State announced on May 11 that the United States has rejected a United Nations review of the Global Compact on Migration.
In a statement, the department clarified that the United States did not participate in the International Migration Review Forum and will not support the May 8 “progress” declaration. The State Department emphasized the U.S. has persistently opposed the United Nations’ efforts to advocate for and facilitate replacement immigration within the United States and across the broader Western world. This position was formalized when President Trump rejected the Global Compact on Migration in 2017—a decision subsequent developments have validated.
The department further stated: “In recent years, Americans witnessed first-hand how mass immigration laid waste to our communities: crime and chaos at the border, states of emergency in major cities, and billions of taxpayer dollars funneled towards hotels, plane tickets, cell phones and cash cards for migrants. Much of this was driven by UN agencies and their partners, which did not just facilitate the invasion of our country, but proceeded to redistribute our own people’s wealth and resources to millions of foreigners from the worst corners of the world.”
The rejection follows concerns over the International Migration Review Forum’s “Progress Declaration,” which outlines a globalist and socialist agenda. The declaration promotes the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—a framework described as a master plan for totalitarian, global central planning—and calls for deepening linkages between migration initiatives and that framework. It even designates migrants as “agents for sustainable development.”
The declaration also advocates global integration through mass migration, urging “continued multilateral, regional, bilateral and local cooperation to support safe, orderly and regular migration based on a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.” It implicitly criticizes U.S. efforts to prevent irregular migration and manage the return of irregular migrants.
Additionally, the declaration mandates that nation-states implement measures to “eliminate all forms of discrimination, including racism, systemic racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, stigmatization, hate speech, hate crimes targeting migrants and diasporas, as well as misinformation and disinformation, negative stereotyping and misleading narratives that generate negative perceptions of migration and migrants.” It also asserts that “international law … prohibits incitement, hate speech and disinformation”—a claim critics describe as an assault on free speech.
The Trump administration previously sidelined the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from U.S. refugee admissions (a role it had played in determining who could enter as refugees) and reduced refugee numbers to record lows. In January, President Trump signed a memorandum withdrawing the United States from 66 international organizations and agreements. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Andrew Veprek confirmed in April that the administration’s review of U.S. membership in such organizations remains ongoing.
The administration’s rejection of the International Migration Review Forum represents a critical step toward rejecting the UN’s globalist agenda. Advocates stress that the United States must ultimately withdraw from the entire UN system, including its International Organization for Migration. Congress has proposed legislation—specifically the DEFUND Act (H.R. 1498 and S. 669)—to enable this withdrawal.
