MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s government plans to file criminal complaints in the US regarding Mexican citizens who died in immigration custody or while being targeted in anti-immigration operations, Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said on July 9.
Fourteen Mexican nationals have lost their lives while in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and three more died in arrest operations conducted by the agency, Velasco told a press conference.
“We are going to move beyond the diplomatic sphere and go directly to US prosecutors to file complaints regarding these incidents, requesting that they are investigated as criminal matters,” Velasco said.
On July 7, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, a Mexican national living in the US illegally for three decades.
His killing, which sparked protests in Houston, brought to at least six the number of people shot dead in immigration enforcement operations since January 2025, when US President Donald Trump returned to office and launched a campaign of mass deportations.
The US Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS
