The UN said Trump's deportations violate international law.

The head of the UN Refugee Agency stated that the practice of deportations to the United States violates international law. Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, condemned the "rejectionist reaction" in some countries toward migrants and refugees, writes NBC.

The head of the UN refugee agency stated on October 6 that Donald Trump's America has engaged in deportation practices that violate international law. He criticized a more recent trend of wary attitudes toward migrants and refugees in a number of countries.

Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, expressed regret that, due to drastic funding cuts and a lack of resources, his agency, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), had to cut approximately 5000 jobs this year, or nearly a quarter of its staff. He noted that these layoffs may not be the last.

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"This year has certainly been challenging for all of us," Grandi said, opening the UNHCR Executive Committee meeting. "But please remember: there has never been an easy year to be a refugee—and there never will be."

He noted some positive developments and praised peace initiatives led by the Trump administration in Congo, where conflict has forced millions of people to flee their homes.

At the UN General Assembly last month, the Trump administration, which has cut support for international humanitarian aid this year, laid out its position to other countries that the current global asylum system is riddled with abuses and needs reform, including through tighter controls on migration.

Other traditional donors have also reduced their contributions to UNHCR's budget this year.

In recent years, the agency has received approximately $5 billion annually (about half of its required budget), while wars and repression in countries such as Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan, Venezuela, and Ukraine have led to the number of people forced to flee their homes roughly doubling over the past decade to 122 million.

In the current politically charged climate, Grandi said, "putting the Refugee Convention and the principle of asylum up for debate would be a catastrophic mistake." He emphasized that "national sovereignty and the right to asylum are not contradictory. They are complementary."

Grandi, whose term ends at the end of this year, expressed regret over the declining respect for international law in some developed countries. He noted that most refugees are accepted by poorer states.

“I am concerned that current discussions, for example in Europe, and some modern deportation practices, such as in the United States, address real problems in ways that are not consistent with international law,” he stressed.

US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott defended US immigration policy, saying Trump's UN speech was "a call to action against the destructive policies that globalist bureaucrats have pushed for years to promote mass and illegal migration."

"Our actions are consistent with U.S. law and the will of the American people, who demand secure borders and a lawful immigration system," Pigott said.

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Grandi noted some encouraging developments: more than a million Syrian refugees have already returned home. A "glimmer of hope" has also appeared in eastern Congo, where fighting is raging between Rwandan-backed forces and Congolese armed forces.

"Thanks to the peace efforts led by the United States, instead of talking about just more bloodshed or more refugees, we can start thinking – cautiously, but still with some optimism – about stability and people returning home," he concluded.

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