Mexico asks US state attorneys general to investigate migrant deaths in
ICE custody
[July 15, 2026]
By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ
MEXICO CITY (AP) — 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, the Mexican
government said Tuesday.
The request follows the death of Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado
Araujo, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston. Since the
beginning of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, 17 Mexican
migrants have died during immigration enforcement, 14 in ICE custody and
three in agency operations.
Mexico's Foreign Ministry had previously said it would make the request,
which was formalized on Tuesday, according to the ministry. It said a
similar request will be also sent to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The United States is not legally obliged to act on the requests.
Also, the Mexican government said it has 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, such as preventing access to prompt and expedited medical care,
as well as the application of policies incompatible with medical and
penitentiary standards.”
The first center to receive the letter was Adelanto, in California,
where four Mexican migrants died.
The letters are a first step toward “the eventual filing of civil
lawsuits” against the companies that operate the detention centers to
stop human rights violations, according to the ministry.
Last week, Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said his country
would go directly to U.S. authorities to request criminal investigations
in cases of Mexicans killed in ICE custody or enforcement operations.
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Sergio Lira views a growing memorial at the site where Lorenzo
Salgado Araujo was fatally shot by ICE agents, last week, is seen on
Monday, July 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Salgado Araujo, who had no criminal record and had lived in the U.S. for
35 years, was shot last Tuesday while driving his construction crew to a
job site in Houston. His death sparked protests in Houston and demands
for an independent investigation from Democrats and Salgado Araujo’s
family.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said the
52-year-old Araujo had rammed an ICE vehicle, and that a federal agent
fired a weapon in self-defense.
Velasco also sent a letter to Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner
for human rights, requesting that U.S. authorities gather information on
the deaths of the Mexican migrants in ICE custody and analyze the
“compatibility of these events with international human rights
obligations.”
The foreign minister also asked Türk to seek the opinion of the Human
Rights Council, a U.N. intergovernmental body that promotes human
rights, on the cases and offer recommendations.
The developments mark an escalation in Mexican President Claudia
Sheinbaum’s response to Trump’s immigration crackdown. Sheinbaum earlier
this year ordered Mexico's diplomatic missions across the U.S. to
regularly check in with ICE detainees, and her government even lodged a
complaint with Türk.
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