US immigration enforcement faced mounting scrutiny Jan. 23 from international officials as well as congressional Democrats following a detainee death ruled a homicide by a county medical examiner in Texas. The disturbing development comes amid record deaths in Homeland Security custody.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on the US to ensure that its immigration policies comply with international law, citing reports of arbitrary detentions, family separations, and dehumanizing treatment. And Democratic lawmakers demanded that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem answer for a growing death toll in immigration detention since President Donald Trump took office for his second term.

The medical examiner in El Paso County found this week that Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban migrant held at a local Homeland Security detention camp, died of asphyxiation on Jan. 3—a homicide. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) initially said Campos died after staff "observed him in distress." The Washington Post reported witness testimony that camp guards had choked him to death.

The homicide finding adds to intensifying controversy over deaths involving ICE, following the fatal shooting of Renee Good, 37, by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.

The UN's Türk said that individuals are being detained "sometimes violently" at hospitals, places of worship, schools, and homes, "often solely on mere suspicion of being undocumented migrants." He noted that children are missing school and medical appointments out of fear of family separation.

"States have the authority to establish their national migration policies, but this needs to be carried out in full accordance with the law," Türk said. "Adhering to due process is crucial to the legality and legitimacy of any policy."

Türk's statement comes amid declining public support for ICE. A New York Times/Siena University poll of 1,625 registered voters conducted Jan. 12-17 found that 61% of voters believe ICE tactics have "gone too far," including 71% of independents and 19% of Republicans. Across the political spectrum, just 26% of voters thought the enforcement tactics used by ICE were "about right."

In his statement, Türk also called for an independent investigation into deaths in ICE custody, adding that 30 people are reported to have died in the agency's custody since President Donald Trump took office for his second term on Jan. 20, 2025. This marks the highest figure since 2004, and there have already been a further six deaths reported in ICE custody so far this year.

The ICE detainee death reporting website lists only 18 deaths for fiscal year 2025, which ended Sept. 30, but the page has not been updated since October and does not yet include figures for fiscal year 2026. More than 65,000 people are currently in ICE custody, a two-thirds jump since Trump took office. This figure includes 1,700 children, and reports of harsh conditions include contaminated food, limited access to clean drinking water, and inadequate medical care.

Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Noem on Dec. 22 demanding answers about what they called a "callous disregard for human life" by Homeland Security, the federal department that oversees ICE. The letter, signed by 13 House members led by Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, counted 53 total deaths in ICE or Customs & Border Protection (CBP) custody since Trump took office. It also alleged that Homeland Security attempted to deport two witnesses to Campos’ death while the investigation remained open. Homeland Security maintains that Campos attempted to take his own life and resisted staff who intervened. Lawmakers demanded documentation on all custody deaths, medical staffing levels, and mental health screening protocols by Feb. 5.

From JURIST, Jan. 23. Used with permission. Internal links added.