The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has urged US authorities this Friday to immediately implement new measures to prevent further deaths of people in the custody of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In an official note, Turk has highlighted the "alarming" death toll, after 18 people have lost their lives in ICE detention centers so far this year, according to official data released by the US Administration. In 2025, 33 deaths were recorded in these facilities, and in 2024, 11 deaths were counted.
Given this situation, the head of the UN Human Rights Office has demanded that all deaths occurring in ICE custody be subject to independent investigations. As he stressed, these investigations must be "prompt, independent, impartial, and effective" to clarify what happened.
"Those responsible for rights violations must be held accountable, and the rights of victims' families to truth, justice, and reparation, as well as guarantees of non-repetition, must be ensured," Turk stated in the communiqué.
Currently, ICE holds more than 60,000 people in detention, and there are plans to expand detention capacity to 90,000 places before the end of 2026, which has raised concerns among human rights organizations.
The UN High Commissioner has drawn attention to the use of solitary confinement in migrant detention centers, a practice that, in his opinion, should only be used exceptionally. He has warned that "all these factors exacerbate the vulnerability of detained individuals and raise serious doubts as to whether some of these deaths in ICE custody could have been avoided," after specifying that five of the recorded deaths have been documented as suicides.
Along these lines, he has called on US immigration authorities to ensure strict adherence to international human rights norms and standards in their detention centers, after denouncing the persistent dehumanization and criminalization of migrants and refugees.