The United Nations on Friday called for independent investigations into dozens of deaths in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since last year — and swift action to prevent more deaths.
At least 52 deaths have been reported in ICE detention facilities since the start of 2025, when US President Donald Trump returned to office and launched a crackdown on migrants, the UN human rights office said.
During the first five months of the year, 18 people died in ICE custody, with another death reported in June, the office said, while 33 deaths were recorded in 2025.
That compares with 11 in 2024, the UN rights office said.
“I call for prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations into all deaths in ICE custody,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement, which also called for “immediate action to prevent further loss of life”.
Turk said the lack of transparency and clarity around the circumstances of the deaths undermines accountability.
“Those responsible for violations of the law must be held accountable and the rights of victims’ families to truth, justice and reparation and guarantees of non-repetition must be respected,” he said.
Trump has made fighting illegal immigration a top priority of his second term, with authorities rounding up thousands of people and expanding detention centers.
A joint report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights said Thursday that the rate of people dying in ICE custody has reached its highest level in more than a decade amid Trump’s crackdown.
– “Dehumanization and criminalization” –
Turk said the deaths occurred in the context of a broad expansion of the US immigration detention system.
ICE currently holds more than 60,000 individuals compared to roughly 40,000 in early 2025, Turk’s office said, citing official data, adding that there were plans to increase capacity to 90,000 people by the end of 2026.
Turk’s office said those arrested included entire families with children, while there are frequent reports of inhumane conditions of detention and treatment and allegations of the use of force.
Five of the officially reported deaths this year were classified as suicides.
“All of these factors exacerbate vulnerability and raise serious concerns about whether some of these deaths in ICE custody could have been prevented,” said Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights.
He said the immigration ban should be a last resort and alternatives should take priority.
Regardless of their immigration status or that of their parents, children should not be subject to immigration detention, he insisted.
Turk also strongly denounced the “continuous dehumanization and criminalization” of immigrants and refugees.
No one should be returned to a country where they could face serious human rights violations or other irreversible harm, he added.
