U.S. Human Rights Scores Slip Further, New Data Shows Sharp Declines in 2025

According to the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, the United States' civil and political rights metrics deteriorated sharply in 2025, marking the largest recorded declines for several freedoms since the organization began tracking them in 2017. The most pronounced drops occurred in the right to be free from forced disappearance and the right to religious belief, while the nation also slipped on freedoms of expression, assembly, and political participation.

Experts attribute these trends to increased use of in-communicado detention and warrantless arrests by immigration authorities, as well as crackdowns on anti-ICE protests and constraints on university speech. Additional factors include heightened governmental pressure on media outlets, new voting restrictions, and executive actions targeting specific religious and community groups. The United States has consistently ranked near the bottom of high-income OECD members on physical integrity and empowerment rights, and the latest data suggest the downward trajectory is continuing into 2026.