Mexico Asks U.S. State Attorneys General To Investigate Migrant Deaths In ICE Custody

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican Requested US state attorneys general to formally conduct criminal investigation dead migrant cases They were being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody or during raids, the Mexican government said Tuesday.

The request is as follows: Death of Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado AraujoHe was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston. Since the beginning of US President Donald Trump’s second term, 17 Mexican immigrants have died during immigration enforcement. 14 people in ICE custody and three in agency operations.

The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs had He had previously said he would make this requestIt became official on Tuesday, according to the ministry. It was stated that a similar request would be forwarded to the US Department of Justice.

The United States is not legally obligated to act on the requests.

Additionally, the Mexican government stated that it had begun sending letters to US detention centers where Mexican immigrants died, demanding that they “immediately cease actions or omissions that resulted in these deaths, such as denying access to prompt and expedited medical care and implementing policies that are inconsistent with medical and criminal standards.”

The first center to receive the letter Adelanto, California, where four Mexican immigrants died.

According to the ministry, the letters are the first step towards “filing final civil lawsuits” against companies operating detention centers to stop human rights violations.

Last week, Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Roberto Velasco said his country would go directly to U.S. authorities to request criminal investigations if Mexicans are killed in ICE custody or in enforcement operations.

Salgado Araujo, The man, who had no criminal record and had lived in the United States for 35 years, was shot last Tuesday while leading a construction crew to a construction site in Houston. His death sparked protests in Houston and demands from Democrats and Salgado Araujo’s family for an independent investigation.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said Araujo, 52, crashed into an ICE vehicle and a federal agent fired a gun in self-defense.

Velasco also sent a letter to Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, demanding that U.S. authorities collect information on the deaths of Mexican immigrants in ICE custody and analyze “the compatibility of these events with international human rights obligations.”

The Foreign Minister also asked Turk to seek the opinion of the Human Rights Council, the UN’s intergovernmental body promoting human rights, on the cases and make recommendations.

The developments point to an escalation in Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s reaction to Trump’s crackdown on immigrants. Earlier this year, Sheinbaum ordered Mexico’s diplomatic missions across the United States to regularly check on ICE detainees and even filed a complaint against his government against Turk.