{"id":4917,"date":"2026-07-13T09:42:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T04:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=4917"},"modified":"2026-07-13T09:42:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T04:42:48","slug":"mexico-threatens-legal-action-over-citizens-deaths-in-ice-custody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=4917","title":{"rendered":"Mexico threatens legal action over citizens&#039; deaths in ICE custody"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.axios.com\/huvoGnwCGGggxUDofD_JjOcGJ_4=\/0x574:6000x3949\/1366x768\/2026\/07\/09\/1783617931877.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Mexico plans to file criminal complaints in the United States over the deaths of Mexican nationals in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/miami\/2025\/12\/05\/amnesty-international-report-alligator-alcatraz-inhumane-conditions\" target=\"_blank\">ICE custody<\/a>, Mexico&#8217;s Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco \u00c1lvarez said Thursday.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why it matters:<\/strong> Mexico had already made diplomatic complaints about the deaths, but taking the United States to court would raise the stakes for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/politics-policy\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\">Trump<\/a> administration as foreign governments and rights advocates continue to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/03\/23\/immigration-detention-overcrowding-trump\" target=\"_blank\">scrutinize<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/01\/20\/ice-custody-deaths-trump-surge\" target=\"_blank\">ICE deaths<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>What they&#8217;re saying: <\/strong>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to do everything we can in our power,&#8221; Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters at a Thursday morning press conference.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;What we can&#8217;t do is neglect the Mexicans who have died in ICE operations or who were detained in detention centers\u2026that&#8217;s why we&#8217;re pressing for more action.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Velasco \u00c1lvarez said Mexico will move beyond previously used diplomatic channels and file complaints directly with U.S. prosecutors, asking them to investigate the incidents as criminal matters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The State Department<\/strong> told Axios it does not &#8220;comment on private diplomatic conversations.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Driving the news:<\/strong> Longtime Houston resident<strong> <\/strong>and Mexican national<strong> <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/houston\/2026\/07\/08\/ice-houston-shooting-immigration\" target=\"_blank\">Lorenzo Salgado Araujo<\/a> was fatally shot by ICE agents early Tuesday morning after officials attempted to arrest him as part of a &#8220;targeted enforcement operation,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DHSgov\/status\/2074626271716216846\" target=\"_blank\">per the federal agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>DHS said in a statement that Araujo &#8220;weaponized his vehicle&#8221; in an attempt to &#8220;run over&#8221; an ICE officer. He later died at a local hospital.<\/li>\n<li>DHS and the FBI are investigating the incident. Community leaders are calling for an independent, transparent investigation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Zoom in: <\/strong>Carlos Enrique Torres, an official with the Mexican Embassy, tells Axios that &#8220;[o]ur Embassy and Consulate in Houston are actively engaged, and we will be meeting with relevant U.S. authorities and members of Congress as part of those efforts.&#8221;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;The Government of Mexico is implementing a legal strategy to strengthen the protection of the human rights of Mexican nationals in the United States following the recent deaths involving ICE detention facilities and enforcement operations.&#8221; <\/li>\n<li>&#8220;The Foreign Ministry is finalizing additional details on the legal measures that will be pursued and will be happy to share them with you as soon as they are confirmed.&#8221; <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Zoom out: <\/strong>Mexico has sent the U.S. 11 formal diplomatic protest notes demanding an explanation of what happened in the cases where Mexican nationals were killed, according to a presentation Velasco \u00c1lvarez shared with reporters.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The presentation also highlighted a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/press-releases\/2026\/06\/us-turk-alarmed-deaths-ice-custody-calls-urgent-preventive-action\" target=\"_blank\">statement<\/a> from United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T\u00fcrk urging &#8220;prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations into all deaths in ICE custody,&#8221; adding that the number of deaths is &#8220;alarming.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>By the numbers: <\/strong>Fourteen Mexican nationals have died in ICE custody since President Trump returned to office, and another three have died during ICE operations, according to Velasco \u00c1lvarez.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>More broadly, 19 immigrants have died in ICE custody in 2026, and 31 died last year, according to data reviewed by Axios from the Detention Watch Network.<\/li>\n<li>By comparison, ICE <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/01\/20\/ice-custody-deaths-trump-surge\" target=\"_blank\">reported<\/a> 26 total deaths across President Biden&#8217;s term.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The other side:<\/strong> &#8220;There has been NO spike in deaths,&#8221; a Homeland Security official told Axios in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Consistent with data over the last decade, as of May 29, death rates in custody under the Trump administration are 0.008% of the detained population.&#8221; <\/li>\n<li>&#8220;As bed space has rapidly expanded, we have maintained a higher standard of care than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens\u2014including providing access to proper medical care.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What we&#8217;re watching: <\/strong>Velasco \u00c1lvarez also said he plans to ask the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The commission investigates complaints of human rights violations in 34 countries across the Americas, including the United States. <\/li>\n<li>Its parent organization, the Organization of American States, did not respond to Axios&#8217; request for comment on Velasco \u00c1lvarez&#8217;s proposal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Go deeper:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/01\/20\/ice-custody-deaths-trump-surge\" target=\"_blank\">ICE custody deaths reach highest peak in two decades under Trump enforcement push<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Editor&#8217;s note: This story has been updated with additional information throughout.<\/em><\/p>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mexico plans to file criminal complaints in the United States over the deaths of Mexican nationals in ICE custody, Mexico&#8217;s Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco \u00c1lvarez said Thursday. Why it matters: Mexico had already made diplomatic complaints about the deaths, but taking the United States to court would raise the stakes for the Trump administration as&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.axios.com\/huvoGnwCGGggxUDofD_JjOcGJ_4=\/0x574:6000x3949\/1366x768\/2026\/07\/09\/1783617931877.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}