Tensions between Mexico and the United States have reached a new boiling point over the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals connected to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations during Donald Trump’s second presidential term, with Mexico announcing a major escalation of legal and diplomatic action Thursday.
Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco confirmed that the Mexican government will not limit its response to diplomatic protests. Instead, it will file formal criminal complaints directly with U.S. prosecutors, demanding full criminal probes into the circumstances of each death. Of the 17 fatalities, 14 occurred while the Mexican citizens were held in ICE custody, and the remaining three happened during active ICE enforcement operations, according to official Mexican government data.
Beyond criminal complaints, Velasco announced that Mexico is preparing cease-and-desist letters to private companies that run the immigration detention centers where the in-custody deaths took place. The legal notifications are framed as a first step that could open the door to future civil litigation against the private facility operators.
This tougher approach follows 11 previous diplomatic protest notes Mexico submitted to Washington over the deaths. To date, U.S. authorities have only stated that internal investigations into the incidents remain ongoing, a response that has failed to de-escalate Mexican anger.
The most recent incident that amplified frictions is the killing of 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo earlier this week. The Mexican national was shot and killed by an ICE officer during a traffic stop in Houston. U.S. authorities defend the officer’s actions, claiming Salgado resisted arrest and tried to run the officer over with his vehicle, forcing the officer to open fire in self-defense. But Salgado’s family has vehemently rejected this official narrative. They describe Salgado as a dedicated construction worker who had resided in the U.S. for nearly 35 years, saying he panicked when he noticed unmarked vehicles following him, and did not pose a lethal threat to the officer.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has made clear her administration’s position: the deaths point to potential human rights violations, and in some instances, may amount to homicide. “We cannot turn a blind eye to the Mexicans who have died in ICE operations or who were detained in these detention centers operated by private companies contracted by ICE,” Sheinbaum stated.
Mexico is also planning to bring the issue before global and regional human rights oversight bodies, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to push for international scrutiny of the cases.
So far, U.S. institutions have offered mixed responses. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has defended ICE’s standard operating procedures, arguing that immigrant detainees are granted due process and adequate medical and basic care, and that all officers receive training to only use the minimum level of force required in any given situation. The U.S. Department of Justice has not issued any public statement regarding Mexico’s planned legal action as of Thursday.
Mexico’s decision to pursue direct legal action adds a new formal layer to long-simmering concerns over U.S. immigration enforcement practices, and analysts warn it could put significant additional strain on bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries as the investigations move forward.