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Mexico seeks criminal probes
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Monday that Mexico would demand criminal complaints in the US over the deaths of more than a dozen Mexican migrants in immigration detention and those killed in anti-migrant operations, including the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston.
Sheinbaum said, “We cannot simply continue with diplomatic letters that have yielded no results,” as she described the case as “practically murdered” during her morning news conference.
The Guardian reported that Sheinbaum’s government said a total of 17 Mexican citizens have died since Donald Trump began his migrant crackdown, including 14 in detention and another three killed during immigration operations.
In Houston, the Department of Homeland Security said Salgado Araujo “weaponized” his vehicle and attempted to hit an ICE officer, a claim the three other men in the car contradicted, while authorities there launched their own investigation.
The Hartford Courant, citing Mexico’s Foreign Ministry, said Mexico formally requested that U.S. state attorneys general criminally investigate cases of migrants who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody or during raids, and that the request was formalized on Tuesday.
DHS account and protests
The death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who the Hartford Courant said had no criminal record and had lived in the U.S. for 35 years, was described by the Department of Homeland Security as a vehicle ramming and an agent firing “in self-defense.”
The Hartford Courant reported that Salgado Araujo was shot last Tuesday while driving his construction crew to a job site in Houston, and that his death “sparked protests in Houston and demands for an independent investigation from Democrats and Salgado Araujo’s family.”
Sheinbaum framed Mexico’s response as legal action beyond traditional diplomatic channels, telling reporters, “Our goal is to go beyond diplomatic notes,” and adding that Mexico was considering additional measures because “we cannot allow the mistreatment of our brothers and sisters who are in the United States.”
The Hartford Courant said Mexico’s Foreign Ministry also started sending letters to U.S. detention centers where Mexican migrants have died, demanding they “immediately cease the actions or omissions that resulted in these deaths,” and named Adelanto, in California, as the first center to receive the letter.
The Guardian added that Sheinbaum said her government would demand the filing of complaints with US federal and local courts on Monday, while the request “carries no legal weight.”
Letters, courts, and UN steps
Mexico’s escalation included cease-and-desist letters to U.S. detention centers where Mexican nationals have died, and the Reuters report carried by SRN News said Mexico began filing criminal complaints with state prosecutors in the United States on Tuesday.
“Mexico has begun filing complaints with state prosecutors in the United States over the deaths of Mexican citizens in immigration detention and during enforcement operations, marking its strongest response yet to deaths linked to US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown”
SRN News, quoting the foreign ministry’s statement, said Mexico’s government also sent cease-and-desist letters to U.S. detention centers where Mexican nationals have died, and that the filings followed “the deaths of at least 14 Mexican nationals in ICE custody.”
The Hartford Courant said Mexico’s Foreign Ministry told U.S. detention centers to immediately cease actions or omissions tied to deaths, including preventing access to “prompt and expedited medical care,” and it described the letters as a first step toward “the eventual filing of civil lawsuits.”
Sheinbaum also involved international human rights channels, with the Hartford Courant reporting that Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco sent a letter to Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, requesting that U.S. authorities gather information on the deaths and analyze the “compatibility of these events with international human rights obligations.”
The Guardian reported that Sheinbaum said her government would demand complaints 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, while the request carries no legal weight.
