Mexico begins legal action in US over deaths of its citizens in ICE custody

Mexico has begun filing complaints with state prosecutors in the United States over the deaths of Mexican citizens in immigration detention and during enforcement operations, marking its strongest response yet to deaths linked to US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the move in a statement on Tuesday after Mexico said 17 of its citizens have died during US immigration enforcement operations or while in custody since Trump returned to office in January last year.

The Mexican government has also sent cease-and-desist letters to detention centres where Mexican nationals have died. The first was sent to the Adelanto detention centre in California, where four Mexican citizens have died.

Mexico said the letters call for an end to practices that may have contributed to the deaths, including delays in medical care and detention policies it says fall short of medical and prison standards.

The government also plans to file a complaint with the US Department of Justice through the Mexican embassy while its consular network is helping bring cases to state prosecutors.

Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Alvarez has also written to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, asking his office to seek information from US authorities and look into whether the deaths are consistent with Washington’s international obligations.

The steps follow measures announced last week by President Claudia Sheinbaum, days after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed Mexican citizen Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a raid in Houston, Texas, on 7 July.

Speaking on Monday, Sheinbaum said the issue went beyond the government and called on all Mexicans to show solidarity with their fellow citizens living in the US. While she said Mexico was not seeking a confrontation with Washington, it could not remain silent.

“We must raise our voices when there are human rights violations against our fellow citizens,” she said.