UN chief demands accountability over migrant deaths in US custody

Four more people have died in US immigration custody since the UN human rights chief last updated the Human Rights Council in June, Volker Turk said on Monday. The deaths brought the total in 2026 to 23, prompting him to demand accountability.

“There needs to be accountability for these deaths,” Turk told the council. He also urged Washington to stop returning people to places where they could suffer “irreparable harm,” including Haiti, and to ensure due process for removals to third countries.

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There needs to be accountability for these deaths.

The warning comes as President Donald Trump has made combating illegal immigration a central priority of his second term. Authorities have rounded up thousands of people and expanded detention centres. A June report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights said the rate of deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody had reached its highest level in more than a decade during the crackdown.

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I urge the United States to halt the return of people to places where they could suffer irreparable harm, including Haiti, and to ensure due process for all removals to third countries.

Turk also criticized other US immigration enforcement practices, including returning migrants to dangerous places and to countries with which they had no connection. He raised particular concern over reported plans by ICE to equip agents with electric shock gloves, saying this would “increase the violence associated with their operations.”

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, is reportedly considering spending $10 million to $20 million on devices described as tools for “distraction and de-escalation.” ICE has also faced criticism after fatal shootings during enforcement operations, including the deaths of two American citizens in Minnesota in January who were involved in anti-ICE protests. Critics have questioned the force used by agents and alleged that training standards for new recruits have been lowered.

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Increase the violence associated with their operations.