Mexico will formally request prosecutors to file a lawsuit in a U.S. court over the death of a citizen in immigration custody.
Published July 14, 2026
Mexico says it will ask U.S. courts to file criminal charges after more than a dozen of its citizens were killed by U.S. immigration authorities or died in custody.
On Monday, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that a request had been formally submitted to U.S. prosecutors, days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot and killed Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a July 7 raid in Houston.
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Salgado is the 17th Mexican to die during such raids or in immigration custody since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year.
“This is not just an issue for the Mexican government,” Sheinbaum said at a daily news conference. “I call on all political parties, all people, Mexican society as a whole to show solidarity with our compatriots in the United States. I don’t think anyone would approve of this situation.”
Sheinbaum stressed that while Mexico is not seeking to provoke a conflict with the United States, it should not remain silent about the deaths of its citizens in order to maintain relations with the Trump administration.
“We must speak out when there are human rights violations against our fellow citizens.”
Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco announced Thursday that the government plans to file criminal charges in the United States.
Most powerful response ever
The request marks Mexico’s toughest action yet over deaths related to President Trump’s immigrant deportations. Mexican authorities say some of the deaths were homicides, but letters of protest to Washington have been unsuccessful.
However, complaints also arise in tense moments between two neighbors. Since returning to office, President Trump has used tariffs to squeeze Mexico’s economy, refused to renew the two countries’ most important trade agreements, and put Sheinbaum in an awkward situation by authorizing direct CIA intervention against Mexican drug cartels.
Still, Mr. Sheinbaum has avoided open confrontation and has worked closely with Washington on drug trafficking and immigration while asserting Mexico’s sovereignty. This combination of cooperation and defiance increased her approval rating domestically to about 68 percent.
