Boston Human Rights

Category: Explainers

Short guides to how a law, ruling or process works.

  • United States: What 52 deaths in ICE custody tell us

    In brief

    • 52 people died in ICE custody between 20 January 2025 and 4 June 2026, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).
    • The groups say the annual mortality rate rose by roughly 138–140% as the detained population grew about 77%.
    • The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for independent investigations.

    The numbers

    In a report published on 25 June 2026, Dying in Detention, HRW and PHR counted 52 deaths in ICE custody between 20 January 2025 and 4 June 2026. They said the detained population rose about 77%, from roughly 40,000 to more than 71,000 by January 2026, and that the annual mortality rate rose by roughly 138–140%.

    In June 2026 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, cited 33 deaths in 2025 against 11 in 2024, and 18 in the first five months of 2026. He noted plans to expand capacity to 90,000 and called for independent investigations.

    Why it matters

    HRW and PHR said ICE did not adequately disclose information in any of the 39 cases they reviewed in detail.

    The wider context

    On 24 September 2026 Amnesty International called for ICE to be abolished, in a report on the Operation Metro Surge deployment in Minnesota based on about 150 interviews. MPR News reported it as the first time Amnesty has called for abolition of a government agency. DHS, responding, cited the criminal records of people detained in Chicago.

    What we don’t know

    We have not independently reviewed the underlying records. We did not find a DHS response to the HRW/PHR report in the sources we reviewed; if one has been published, we will add it with its source.

    What can be done

    HRW, PHR and the UN call for independent investigations of deaths in custody. Readers can read the reports linked below and ask their members of Congress about oversight of immigration detention.

    Sources: HRW/PHR, 25 Jun 2026 · OHCHR, Jun 2026 · MPR News, 24 Sep 2026

    Sources and corrections. Figures are attributed to the named source and date. If you spot an error or a newer source, write to us via the Contact page and we will correct this post.

  • Africa: When protection is cut, the dangers return

    In brief

    • UNHCR says 8.3 million refugees and other displaced people risk losing vital assistance as funding falls.
    • In Africa, the agency points to Chad, Ethiopia and Sudan, where services for refugees and survivors of violence are shrinking.
    • UNHCR’s figures are the agency’s own, and are advocacy as well as data.

    On 29 September 2026 UNHCR published Protection Eroded. According to UN News, the report says funding fell from $5.178 billion in 2024 to $3.932 billion in 2025, and that by July only 32% of the $8.5 billion needed in 2026 had been received.

    What it looks like in Africa

    • Chad: 319,000 refugees face registration delays.
    • Ethiopia: safe houses for survivors of gender-based violence fell from 29 to 13 in a year.
    • Sudan: more than 50,000 survivors of sexual violence could lose post-rape care.

    Al Jazeera reported on 25 September 2026 that more than 55,000 Sudanese refugees had fled to Chad, and that UNHCR said only about 20% of its $1.6 billion regional appeal was funded. (This figure comes from a news summary we are still re-checking.)

    Why people are fleeing

    In February 2026 the UN Human Rights Office said more than 6,000 people were killed in the first three days of the Rapid Support Forces’ capture of El Fasher in October 2025, and that the violations amount to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. On 1 July 2026 Amnesty International said, based on 247 interviews, that the RSF committed crimes against humanity.

    What we don’t know

    How donor decisions for 2027 will be made, and how figures for individual camps will change; they change quickly. We cite UNHCR’s numbers as the agency’s own.

    What you can do

    Read the sources below, and ask your elected representatives how their governments are funding protection for refugees.

    Sources: UN News, 29 Sep 2026 · Al Jazeera, 25 Sep 2026 · OHCHR, Feb 2026 · Amnesty International, 1 Jul 2026

    Sources and corrections. Figures are attributed to the named source and date. If you spot an error or a newer source, write to us via the Contact page and we will correct this post.