Mexico has filed a complaint and sent a cease-and-desist letter over the deaths of 17 citizens in ICE custody or raids.
Published July 14, 2026
Mexico has begun filing charges with U.S. state prosecutors over the deaths of Mexican nationals in immigration detention and enforcement, the strongest response yet to deaths related to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The Foreign Ministry announced the move in a statement on Tuesday after President Trump announced that 17 Mexican nationals have died during U.S. immigration searches or detention since he returned to office last January.
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The Mexican government also sent a cease-and-desist letter to the detention center where the Mexican national died. The first was sent to the Adelanto Detention Center in California, where four Mexicans died.
The Mexican government said the letter called for an end to practices that may have contributed to the deaths, including delays in medical care and detention policies that it said did not meet medical or prison standards.
The government also plans to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice through the Mexican Embassy, while a network of consulates will assist in filing charges with state prosecutors.
Mexico’s Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Álvarez also sent a letter to Turkish UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker, asking his office to seek information from US authorities and investigate whether the deaths were consistent with the US’ international obligations.
The move follows one announced by President Claudia Sheinbaum last week, days after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, on July 7.
Speaking Monday, Sheinbaum said the issue goes beyond the government and called on all Mexicans to show solidarity with their fellow citizens in the United States. He said Mexico does not seek confrontation with the United States, but it cannot afford to remain silent.
“We must speak out when there are human rights violations against our fellow citizens,” she said.
