UN rights chief urges probes into deaths in US immigration custody

Volker Türk urged independent investigations into deaths in U.S. immigration custody as the United Nations said 19 people had died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention by June 4, 2026. The UN human rights chief said the toll was alarming and pushed for accountability beyond internal review.

The United Nations Human Rights Office said 18 people died in ICE detention in the first five months of 2026, compared with eight in the same period of 2025. A further death was reported on June 4, bringing the year’s total to 19. ICE said 33 people died in its custody in 2025, up from 11 in 2024, the highest annual total since the agency was created in 2003.

Human Rights Watch said at least 52 people died in ICE custody between January 20, 2025, and June 4, 2026, and said the mortality rate in detention was at its highest level in more than a decade. The group said deaths more than doubled after Donald Trump’s second term began, a pattern it tied to transparency failures and delayed or inadequate medical care inside detention centers.

ICE’s own death-reporting framework is now under sharper scrutiny. The agency adopted its Notification, Review, and Reporting Requirements for Detainee Deaths in 2021, a policy covering initial notification, review and ongoing reporting after a death in custody. ICE says it notifies Congress, nongovernmental stakeholders and the media when deaths are officially reported, and posts death notices publicly. The question now is whether that process can deliver the independence families, advocates and monitors are demanding.

Türk said those responsible for violations must be held to account and that families must be guaranteed truth, justice and reparations. His intervention adds international pressure to a domestic system already facing criticism as detention and deportation operations expand, with medical care, facility standards and public reporting all under renewed pressure inside ICE detention centers across the United States.