MEXICO CITY — Mexico will request criminal charges over 17 Mexicans who died in ICE custody or during immigration enforcement operations by the Trump administration, officials said Thursday.
Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco’s announcement Thursday morning further escalated tensions with the United States, as Mexico’s government has sharply criticized the treatment of its citizens under U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to increase deportations.
The request, which carries no legal weight, will be submitted to state prosecutors’ offices and the U.S. Department of Justice, asking them to consider criminal charges against those responsible for the deaths.
It will be accompanied by civil lawsuits against the companies that operate the detention centers in an effort to put an end to human rights violations in those facilities, Velasco said.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that Mexico decided to “move beyond diplomatic channels” and escalate its complaints after an ICE agent killed Mexican citizen Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston this week. Sheinbaum said the killing “is not only sad and regrettable, but also appears to have been targeted.”
“We are going to do everything in our power, because we cannot stand silent” in the face of the deaths of Mexicans “whose only crime is working honestly in the United States,” Sheinbaum said.
Salgado Araujo had been living in the country for decades. He was transporting a work crew to a housing construction site when he was shot. His family demanded a thorough investigation into what happened.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, agents were pursuing him because he was living in the country without legal authorization. Salgado Araujo, the department added, was shot after disregarding orders and attempting to ram an agent, who fired his weapon in self-defense.
According to the Mexican government, 14 Mexicans have died while in ICE custody and 3 during ICE operations.
Until now, the Mexican government had supported the victims’ families, sent diplomatic notes to Washington demanding investigations, and raised the issue with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Sheinbaum earlier this year ordered consulates to regularly check in with ICE detainees, and her government even lodged a complaint with the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Mexico’s latest request adds to an already strained relationship with the Trump administration. Sheinbaum has cracked down more fiercely than her predecessors on organized crime in the wake of mounting threats by Trump to take military action against cartels. She has also sought to keep an amicable relationship with her U.S. counterpart as the countries renegotiate the decades-old free trade agreement. At the same time, she’s taken a strong stance on immigration enforcement and the rights of Mexican citizens in U.S. custody.
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