US immigration custody deaths reach 23 in 2026, UN says

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said 23 people have died in US immigration custody in 2026 and called for accountability for the deaths.

Speaking to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, Turk said four more people had died in US immigration custody since his last update to the council in June. “There needs to be accountability for these deaths,” he said.

Turk also urged the United States to halt returns of people to places where they could face “irreparable harm”, including Haiti, and to ensure due process for removals to third countries.

He voiced alarm at reported plans by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to equip immigration agents with electric shock gloves, warning that this would increase violence associated with its operations.

The Associated Press first reported a plan for the Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, to spend $10 million to $20 million on devices described as “distraction and de-escalation” tools.

US President Donald Trump has made combating illegal immigration a priority of his second term, with authorities rounding up thousands of people and expanding detention centres. A June report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights said the rate of deaths in ICE custody had reached its highest level in more than a decade amid the crackdown.