The government of Mexico has said it will ask United States prosecutors to open criminal investigations into the deaths of its citizens during immigration enforcement operations.
At her Thursday morning news conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico “cannot turn a blind eye to the Mexicans who have died”.
“We made the decision — obviously, we will maintain diplomatic relations — to file a formal complaint with both state and federal prosecutors in the United States against whoever is found responsible for what we consider to be homicides or, in other cases, for human rights violations,” Sheinbaum said.
Her remarks signalled that Mexico is prepared to issue its strongest response yet to the growing number of fatalities linked to US President Donald Trump’s deportation crackdown.
The move comes two days after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 52-year-old Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during an immigration operation in Houston.
According to Mexico’s government, 14 Mexican nationals have died while in ICE custody , and three others have been killed during immigration enforcement operations.
Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco explained that Mexico had issued diplomatic notes in protest of the killings, but repeated attempts to engage with US authorities had failed.
“We are going to move beyond the diplomatic sphere and go directly to US prosecutors to file complaints regarding these incidents, requesting that they are investigated as criminal matters,” he told reporters.
Velasco added that Mexico also plans to file civil lawsuits against the private companies that operate US immigration detention centres.
Salgado Araujo’s killing this week has renewed outrage over ICE tactics on both sides of the US-Mexico border.
On Wednesday night, hundreds of people marched through Houston’s historic Magnolia Park neighbourhood, chanting “ICE out of Houston”.
Salgado Araujo’s family has said he lived in the US for 35 years, had no criminal convictions and was driving a crew to a construction site when he was killed. They explained he had been working towards getting legal status.
The family, as well as politicians like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and US Congress members like Representative Sylvia Garcia, have called for a full investigation into his killing.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Salgado Araujo ignored officers’ commands during an immigration stop and tried to ram an agent with his vehicle, prompting the officer to open fire.
His family disputes that account and, along with civil rights groups, is demanding authorities release video footage of the encounter.
Reuters reports Salgado Araujo’s death brings the number of people fatally shot during US immigration enforcement operations to at least six since Trump returned to office for a second term as US president in January 2025.
Mexico has repeatedly raised concerns over the treatment of its citizens in ICE custody. After another Mexican national died in detention in April, its Foreign Ministry ordered consular officials to increase their visits to ICE detention centres from weekly to daily.
The ministry also said it would pursue “all available legal and diplomatic avenues” to seek accountability.
“The repeated occurrence of deaths in custody is unacceptable and reveals serious deficiencies in ICE detention centers, which are incompatible with human rights standards and the protection of human life,” it wrote.
The number of deaths in ICE custody has also risen sharply. Thirty-two detainees died in 2025, compared to 11 in 2024, according to the agency’s website.
An estimated 19 in-custody deaths have occurred between January and early June of this year.
The US Department of Homeland Security has rejected the idea that the numbers represented a rise, telling Al Jazeera in June that “ there has been NO spike in deaths ”. It has argued that ICE detention centres maintain a “higher standard of care than most prisons that hold US citizens”.
