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UN rights chief calls for accountability after 23 US custody deaths in 2026
The UN rights chief said four additional deaths in US immigration custody occurred after his prior June update, bringing the 2026 total to 23.
The UN rights chief urged accountability for deaths in US immigration custody and called on Washington to halt deportations to places where people face “irreparable harm,” according to Agence France-Presse via SCMP Economy.
He said there had been a total of 23 deaths in 2026, adding that four more people died in custody since his last update to the UN Human Rights Council in June.
The outlet also cited a joint report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights from June, which said deaths in ICE custody had reached their highest level in over a decade amid a crackdown.
He further criticized US immigration enforcement practices, including forcing migrant returns to dangerous places and to countries they had no connection to, the report said.