Mexico’s government has escalated its legal and diplomatic response, filing 20 complaints with state and county prosecutors’ offices across the US over the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals. The deaths occurred since May, either during enforcement operations or while the individuals were in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The complaints were filed by Mexico’s ambassador to the US, Roberto Lacerdi, across eight states, including Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas, alongside a formal request to the US Department of Justice to open investigations. The move follows measures announced by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum aimed at protecting the rights of Mexican migrants and clarifying detention conditions, including at facilities run by private companies.
Alongside the US legal action, Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Álvarez sent a letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, asking for an investigation into the incidents and for recommendations to be issued. Bilateral tension between the two countries has intensified, particularly following the recent death of 52-year-old Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, shot by an ICE agent in Houston, as well as the US State Department’s rejection of Mexico’s earlier diplomatic protests.
