The Mexican government said Wednesday it’s taken several steps in response to the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals in ICE custody or during enforcement operations since May 2025.
Mexico said it filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice over the 17 cases, requesting investigations into each. The Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. also filed similar requests with eight state attorneys general – in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri and Texas – as well as 12 county prosecutors where the deaths occurred.
The ambassador also met with Department of Homeland Security and ICE officials last week to convey concerns about conditions inside detention facilities, the Mexican government said, and a Mexican official also wrote the United Nations to request the High Commissioner for Human Rights step in and issue recommendations to help prevent further deaths.
The actions came after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denounced the deaths in the wake of the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, by federal immigration agents in Houston earlier this month.
“It’s a case that outrages all Mexicans,” Sheinbaum said in Spanish during a news conference on July 13, detailing the steps she planned to take. “This is not about creating conflict but neither can we – as the government and as Mexican people – say, ‘We’re not going to say anything because it might create problems in our relationship with President Trump’s administration.’”
“All Mexicans should say that violations of the human rights of Mexicans—whether in Mexico or abroad—must not happen,” she added.
Neither ICE nor the White House responded to questions about the Mexican government’s actions. The California Attorney General’s office said it can neither confirm nor deny any ongoing investigations.
“This is something that hurts the soul of Mexicans,” said Rafael Fernández de Castro, who runs UC San Diego’s Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies.
Fernández de Castro said the relationship between the two nations is complicated and Sheinbaum is facing political pressure to act.
“I believe she has to walk a fine line: exert enough pressure, to use her authority, without creating animosity, without creating a reaction in the U.S. government that becomes a politicized event,” he said.
On Friday, the U.S. State Department posted on social media that an official met with the Mexican ambassador and “returned Mexico’s letters that purport to direct the actions of U.S. Government personnel operating in U.S. sovereign territory… [and] recommended Mexico share its concerns via diplomatic channels as is customary,” in what appeared to be a sort of admonishment.
In response, the Mexican Embassy posted that the letter was a cease-and-desist directed to the private prison company that runs Adelanto ICE detention center in California and said the concerns have already been raised through official diplomatic channels.
“The problem is that this administration, [the Trump] administration, they like to fight,” Fernández de Castro said of the escalating tensions. “So I’m worried about that. Mexico has to be very smart on this and play very safe.”