Mexican Citizens Keep Dying In ICE Custody. Now Mexico Is Filing Criminal Complaints.
Mexico is planning to file criminal complaints in the U.S. over the deaths of its citizens while in ICE custody.
Axios noted that Mexico had previously lodged diplomatic complaints over the ICE custody deaths.
“We’re going to do everything we can in our power,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said at a press conference, according to the outlet. “What we can’t do is neglect the Mexicans who have died in ICE operations or who were detained in detention centers…that’s why we’re pressing for more action.”
The Associated Press reported that the request for criminal charges involves 17 Mexicans who died in ICE custody. The wire service noted that the request does not carry any legal weight.
Rather, the complaints will be made to prosecutors’ offices in the U.S. or to the Justice Department. Ultimately, it will be up to those authorities to decide if criminal charges are warranted regarding the deaths.
Mexico also plans to file civil lawsuits.
The AP reported that the ICE’s killing of Mexican citizen Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston this week was the final straw for Sheinbaum, who said that the killing “is not only sad and regrettable, but also appears to have been targeted.”
Reuters previously reported that the rate of deaths among detainees has risen under President Trump. In June, the outlet noted that from 2009 through 2024, the death rate was 1 for every 3,848 detainees annually. It has accelerated to one death for every 1,630 detainees since Trump took office.
So far this year, 19 people have died in ICE custody. Last year, 31 died last year. Those numbers easily surpass the 26 detainee deaths that occurred during Biden’s entire term
The Department of Homeland Security has disputed the data and noted the increase in the detainee population under President Trump.
“There has been NO spike in deaths,” a Homeland Security official told Axios in an emailed statement. “Consistent with data over the last decade, as of May 29, death rates in custody under the Trump administration are 0.008% of the detained population.”
“As bed space has rapidly expanded, we have maintained a higher standard of care than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens—including providing access to proper medical care,” the government said in the statement to Axios.
