SECRETARY POMPEO: Good afternoon. The Trump administration is committed to protecting and promoting the God-given dignity and freedom of every human being. Every individual has rights that are inherent and inviolable. They are given by God, and not by government. Because of that, no government must take them away.

For decades, the United States has led global efforts to promote human rights, often through multilateral institutions. While we have seen improvements in certain human rights situations, for far too long we have waited while that progress comes too slowly or in some cases never comes. Too many commitments have gone unfulfilled.

President Trump wants to move the ball forward. From day one, he has called out institutions or countries who say one thing and do another. And that’s precisely the problem at the Human Rights Council. As President Trump said at the UN General Assembly: “It is a massive source of embarrassment to the United Nations that some governments with egregious human rights records sit on the Human Rights Council.”

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Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the first antidumping duty (AD) trade case the Federal government has initiated since 1985. This historic self-initiated AD investigation concerns imports of common alloy aluminum sheet from China. This investigation, and the companion countervailing duty investigation, was initiated by the Enforcement and Compliance division of the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration under the authority granted to the Secretary in the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. The CVD investigation reached a preliminary determination in February 2018 and is still being adjudicated.

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Statement from:
Heather Nauert
Department Spokesperson
Washington, DC

We condemn the Iranian government’s execution of Mohammad Salas, a member of the long-persecuted Iranian Gonabadi Sufi Dervish community. According to reports, Mr. Salas was hanged this morning at Rajai Shahr Prison, the notorious jail recently designated by the Department of Treasury in connection with serious human rights abuses against persons in Iran.

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SOUTHWEST ASIA – Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve and its partners continue to strike Daesh targets in designated parts of Iraq and Syria.

Ongoing operations by Iraqi Security Forces and Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by CJTF-OIR efforts, demonstrate that work remains to defeat Daesh. Coalition strikes continue to target Daesh throughout Iraq under the leadership of Iraqi authorities. "All Coalition air strikes are carried out with the consent of the Iraqi government," said Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in a press conference April 1, 2018.

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The Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen has determined that termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Honduras is required pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act. To allow for an orderly transition, she has determined to delay the effective date of the termination for 18 months. The designation will terminate on January 5, 2020.

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On May 4, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Press Secretary Tyler Q. Houlton released the following statement on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Southwest Border Migration numbers for April:

"The recently released April 2018 Southwest Border Migration numbers underscore the continuing security crisis along our southwest border. The number of illegal border crossers increased in April from the previous month, and more than tripled in April 2018 in comparison to April 2017. For the second month in a row, we have seen more than 50,000 individuals try to illegally enter the United States.

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