GENEVA: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday called for accountability over a growing number of deaths in US immigration custody, while urging Washington to stop deporting migrants to countries where they could face “irreparable harm”.
Addressing the UN Human Rights Council, Türk said four additional people had died in US immigration custody since his previous update to the council in June, bringing the total number of deaths recorded this year to 23.
“There needs to be accountability for these deaths,” the UN rights chief said, expressing concern over the continued loss of life in immigration detention facilities.
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.
A joint report released in June by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights said 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 immigration enforcement.
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.
“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,” he told the council.
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The UN official also raised concerns over plans by ICE to equip immigration officers with electric-shock gloves, warning that such equipment could contribute to greater violence during enforcement operations.
The proposed purchase, first reported by The Associated Press, involves an allocation of between $10 million and $20 million by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, for devices described as tools for “distraction and de-escalation”.
ICE has faced mounting criticism over the use of force during immigration operations, including several fatal shootings. Among those killed were two US citizens in Minnesota in January during incidents linked to protests against the agency.
Rights groups and other critics have also questioned the increasingly forceful tactics employed by immigration officers, as well as allegations that training standards for newly recruited agents have been weakened.
