A group that monitors the status of civic liberties is warning that the U.S. is showing signs of experiencing a “rapid authoritarian shift” as the country’s civic freedoms decline after President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

CIVICUS, an international network of civil society groups advocating for stronger civil liberties, downgraded its assessment of U.S. civic freedoms from “narrowed” to “obstructed” on Tuesday, months after it added the country to a global human rights watchlist earlier this year.

“Long – established democracies are showing signs of a rapid authoritarian shift, characterized by a weakened rule of law and increasing constraints on independent civil society. Argentina and the USA are examples of this trend,” the report stated.

CIVICUS, in cooperation with 20 other civil society partners, assesses countries’ current state of freedom using five categories: closed, repressed, obstructed, narrowed, and open.

The “narrowed” label, under which the U.S. was previously classified, is applied to countries where the groups find that people generally can exercise their rights of expression, free speech, and assembly, but the government makes some attempts to violate these rights.

The “obstructed” category, on the other hand, includes countries where the organizations have determined that “the full enjoyment” of civil rights is restricted through legal and practical means.

“Although civil society organizations exist, state authorities undermine them, including through the use of illegal surveillance, bureaucratic harassment, and demeaning public statements,” CIVICUS writes in its description of the label. “Citizens can organize and assemble peacefully, but they are vulnerable to the frequent use of excessive force by law enforcement agencies, including rubber bullets, tear gas, and baton charges.”

Explaining its reason for downgrading the U.S., the group wrote that “Trump has issued unprecedented executive orders aimed at unraveling democratic institutions, global cooperation, and international justice.”

The report also pointed to what the group described as a “militarized response” to protests against Trump’s aggressive immigration policies.

Trump has sent troops to multiple cities across the country. Over the summer, after protests broke out in a city over immigration raids, he deployed thousands of National Guard members and hundreds of Marines there. A federal judge ruled in September that Trump violated long – standing federal law when sending the troops to the city, finding that the Administration “systematically used armed soldiers” for law – enforcement purposes. The President has also deployed federal troops to several other Democratic strongholds, which the White House has described as an effort to combat crime.

The group also cited actions of the Trump Administration targeting pro – Palestinian activists, including its moves to… using what CIVICUS described as “archaic and obscure clauses of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act.” The Administration said this summer it had revoked hundreds of visas over “support for terrorism” under the law, which prohibits foreign – born people from entering the country if they engage in—or are deemed likely to engage in—“terrorist activities.”

Other examples highlighted by the group included… of nearly 100 protesters at a sit – in at Trump Tower who were advocating for the release of Palestinian activist and Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, as well as the continued attempts to deport Khalil himself. It also noted the Administration’s use of AI to screen the social media accounts of student visa – holders for “pro – Hamas” activity under a… “Catch and Revoke” program as an instance of government surveillance targeting protesters.

The report also pointed to Trump’s attacks on the press. Trump has continued his long – standing public criticism of media outlets and journalists over unfavorable coverage. In recent months, he has raised alarm among free – speech experts as he has filed… against multiple news organizations and his Administration has taken steps to restrict media access to the White House and…

“Press freedom is under pressure, with censorship, judicial harassment, and political interference manifested in the cancellation or suspension of major talk shows, funding cuts affecting independent media, and tighter restrictions on White House press access,” CIVICUS wrote in the report.

The Administration… in September when ABC News temporarily cancelled Jimmy Kimmel Live! hours after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair threatened to take regulatory action against the network because of comments Kimmel made regarding the… Months earlier, CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, whose host is a consistent and prominent Trump critic, as its parent company Paramount awaited FCC approval for a multi – billion – dollar merger.

Trump also signed into law a package that rolled back billions in funding over the summer, rescinding $1.1 billion in funding for The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This prompted the nonprofit—which for decades had helped support NPR, PBS, and hundreds of local public media stations—to… its operations.

The U.S. was last classified in the “obstructed” category in 2020, during Trump’s first term, and 2021, the first year that then – President Joe Biden was in office. CIVICUS upgraded the country’s civic freedom status later in Biden’s presidency.

The current decline in the U.S.’s civic freedoms identified by the group seems to be part of a broader global trend. According to the report, only 39 of the 198 nations and territories CIVICUS assessed have an “open civic space rating,” which means that nearly three in four people around the world live in a country with “restricted conditions.”

While CIVICUS found that civic liberties in countries such as Senegal, Gabon, and Mauritania have improved, it noted declines in other major world powers, including France, Germany, and Italy. All three, like the U.S., were downgraded from the “narrowed” to “obstructed” category. Other countries such as Argentina, Israel, and Switzerland also saw their assessments drop.