UN Demands Accountability as 23 Die in US Custody

Geneva (GNP): United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has called for accountability over a rising number of deaths in United States immigration custody, urging Washington to halt deportations of migrants to countries where they could face irreparable harm.

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, Türk said four additional deaths had occurred in US immigration custody since his previous update to the council in June, bringing the total recorded this year to 23.

Türk said there needs to be accountability for these deaths, expressing concern over the continued loss of life inside immigration detention facilities. His remarks come as US President Donald Trump has made a tougher crackdown on illegal immigration a central priority of his second term, with authorities carrying out large-scale immigration raids, detaining thousands of people and expanding detention capacity across the country.

The concerns raised by the UN rights chief align with findings from a joint report released in June by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights, which found that the death rate among people held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody had reached its highest level in more than a decade amid the administration’s intensified enforcement drive.

Building on this pattern, Türk also criticised US policies involving the removal of migrants to countries where they could face serious danger, including states with which they have no meaningful connection, specifically urging Washington to halt returns to places such as Haiti and to ensure due process for all removals to third countries.

Beyond custody deaths and deportation practices, Türk raised concerns over ICE’s plans to equip immigration officers with electric-shock gloves, warning that such equipment could contribute to greater violence during enforcement operations. The proposed purchase, involving an allocation of between $10 million and $20 million by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, is intended for devices described as tools for distraction and de-escalation.

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These concerns follow mounting criticism of ICE over its use of force during immigration operations, including several fatal shootings, among them the deaths of two US citizens in Minnesota in January during incidents linked to protests against the agency. Rights groups and other critics have separately questioned the increasingly forceful tactics used by immigration officers, along with allegations that training standards for newly recruited agents have been weakened.

Volker Türk said, “I urge the United States to halt the return of people to places where they could suffer irreparable harm, including Haiti.”