US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that "opening our doors to mass migration was a grave mistake that threatens the cohesion of our societies and the future of our peoples," as the Trump administration formally rejected a United Nations migration declaration on 12 May 2025. The strongly worded statement marks one of Washington's sharpest public rejections of the international migration governance framework to date.

US Rejects UN Migration Forum Declaration

The US State Department announced that the United States "did not participate in the International Migration Review Forum and will not support the May 8 'progress' declaration." The administration stated it has consistently opposed UN efforts related to global migration frameworks, citing what it described as threats to American sovereignty and the wellbeing of working-class citizens.

The statement also recalled President Donald Trump's 2017 decision to reject the Global Compact on Migration, asserting that "the intervening years have confirmed the wisdom of that opposition."

Accusations Against UN Agencies

The administration levelled pointed accusations against UN agencies and their partners, alleging they had contributed to large-scale migration into the United States. According to the statement, Americans had witnessed "crime and chaos at the border, states of emergency in major cities, and billions of taxpayer dollars funnelled towards hotels, plane tickets, cell phones and cash cards for migrants."

It further alleged that UN-linked efforts "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 statement dismissed the UN's characterisation of migration management as "safe, orderly, or regular," calling it entirely at odds with the reality experienced by Americans.

Sovereignty and the 'Remigration' Goal

The Trump administration made clear it would not support any international process that could constrain US sovereignty over immigration policy. "President Trump is focused on the interests of Americans, not foreigners or globalist bureaucrats," the statement said.

Notably, the administration went further than simply opposing migration inflows, signalling an active reversal of direction. "Our goal is not to 'manage' migration, but to foster remigration," the statement declared — a term that refers to encouraging migrants already present in a country to return to their countries of origin. The administration also stated it would reject any guidelines, standards, or commitments — whether imposed "overtly or by stealth" — that limit the American people's democratic right to set their own immigration policy.

Background: The UN Global Compact

The International Migration Review Forum is linked to the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adopted in 2018 to strengthen international cooperation on migration issues. The compact is non-binding, but has faced sustained criticism from several conservative governments over concerns about national sovereignty and border control. The US under Trump first distanced itself from the compact in 2017, before it was formally adopted, and the current administration has now reinforced that position with considerably sharper language.

The latest statement signals that the US intends to deepen its disengagement from multilateral migration governance frameworks, with implications for UN credibility on the issue and for allied governments that have remained signatories to the compact.