The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) reported on Wednesday that the Mexican government last week filed a total of 20 complaints with prosecutor’s offices in the U.S. regarding the deaths of Mexican citizens in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or during ICE operations.
The federal government first announced on July 9 that it would file criminal complaints in connection with the deaths of 17 Mexicans, 14 of whom died in ICE detention centers since May 2025 and three of whom died during ICE operations.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday, July 13, that the complaints would be filed that day. Her administration is seeking thorough investigations into the deaths of all Mexicans who have died under ICE custody or in ICE operations.
In an “information note” published on Wednesday, the SRE said that on July 13, Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States, Roberto Lazzeri, filed 20 complaints “in the jurisdictions where the deaths occurred,” namely Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas.
The ministry said that eight complaints were filed with state prosecutors’ offices and 12 were filed with county prosecutors’ offices.
The SRE also said that on July 14, “the Mexican Embassy in the United States forwarded to the Department of Justice, through the Department of State, the complaint submitted by the Attorney General of Mexico regarding the 17 cases, along with a formal request to open the corresponding investigations and to provide an update on their progress.”
The deaths of Mexicans in ICE custody and ICE operations — including that of an 18th Mexican who was hit by a truck in Florida last week while running away from ICE officers — have occurred as the Trump administration pursues an aggressive deportation agenda. On numerous occasions, Sheinbaum has expressed her opposition to that agenda, and last week she said she disagreed with U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for continued immigration traffic stops.
“If there is a person who committed a crime, he or she must be pursued. But migration in itself shouldn’t be criminalized,” Sheinbaum said last Thursday.
Lazzeri meets with DHS and ICE officials
In its release on Wednesday, the SRE also reported that in meetings with officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE last week, Lazzeri “conveyed the Mexican government’s concerns about conditions in … [ICE] detention centers, including those operated by private companies.”
The ambassador, who only recently began his appointment in the U.S., also “requested clarification on each case” of deaths of Mexicans in the detention centers, the SRE said.
After the death of Alejandro Cabrera Clemente in an ICE detention center in April, Sheinbaum said she had instructed staff in Mexican consulates in the U.S. to visit ICE detention centers on a daily basis to check on the welfare of detained Mexicans.
“They were visiting them once a week, but now I asked them to visit every day,” she said.
The Mexican government has asserted that poor conditions in detention centers in the United States and a lack of medical care for people in ICE custody have caused or at least contributed to the deaths of Mexicans.
Lazzeri also met last week with Michael Kozak, a senior official with the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, a division of the U.S. Department of State.
Western Hemisphere Affairs Senior Bureau Official Michael Kozak met Mexican Ambassador Roberto Lazzeri today in Washington. SBO Kozak returned Mexico’s letters that purport to direct the actions of U.S. Government personnel operating in U.S. sovereign territory. SBO Kozak also…
— Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (@WHAAsstSecty) July 17, 2026
After the July 17 meeting, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on social media that “Kozak returned Mexico’s letters that purport to direct the actions of U.S. Government personnel operating in U.S. sovereign territory.”
“SBO Kozak also recommended Mexico share its concerns [regarding the deaths of Mexicans in the U.S.] via diplomatic channels as is customary,” the post added.
Mexico seeks assistance from UN high commissioner for human rights
The SRE said that on July 14, Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Velasco sent a letter to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk “informing him of the events” — i.e., the deaths of Mexicans under ICE custody and in ICE operations.
In the letter, Velasco asked Türk to “consider gathering information through requests for clarification from the United States, analyze their compatibility with international human rights instruments, and make technical recommendations to help prevent incidents of this kind.”
In late June, the high commissioner “urged prompt action to prevent further loss of life in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and called for independent investigations into all deaths under ICE custody,” according to a UN press release.
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