The government of Mexico brought the migration crisis to U.S. courts on Wednesday by filing 20 criminal complaints with state and county prosecutors in the United States regarding the deaths of 17 Mexican citizens that occurred since May during operations or while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to a statement from the Secretariat of Foreign Relations (SRE), the complaints were filed on July 13 by the Mexican ambassador in Washington, Roberto Lazzeri, in the jurisdictions where the fatalities occurred: eight were submitted to state prosecutors and twelve to county prosecutors in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas.
The following day, July 14th, the Embassy sent to the Department of Justice—through the Department of State—the complaint prepared by the Attorney General's Office (FGR), along with the formal request to open investigations into the 17 cases and to report on the progress of the inquiries.
The actions are part of the package of measures announced by President Claudia Sheinbaum on July 9, when Mexico decided to move away from an exclusively diplomatic approach after the number of reported deaths had accumulated since May.
Sheinbaum clarified that out of the 17 deceased, 14 lost their lives in detention centers and three during ICE operations.
The package also includes civil actions against companies operating detention centers, requests for precautionary measures before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and a letter from Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Álvarez to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, asking him to gather information, analyze the compatibility of the facts with international instruments, and issue recommendations to prevent similar cases.
Ambassador Lazzeri also held meetings with officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE to express Mexico's concerns about the conditions in detention centers, including those managed by private companies.
The legal escalation occurs in a context of growing bilateral tension. The previous week, Washington returned the letters of protest to Mexico sent by the SRE: the official Michael Kozak, from the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the State Department, argued that the letters "were intended to direct the actions of U.S. personnel on their sovereign territory" and recommended that Mexico raise its concerns through the usual diplomatic channels.
The immediate trigger of the crisis was the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican, who passed away on July 7 in Houston, Texas, after being shot by an ICE agent during a migration operation.
The forensic pathologist of Harris County classified the case as homicide, with the cause of death listed as a penetrating gunshot wound to the torso.
ICE stated that Salgado Araujo attempted to flee and used his vehicle as a weapon, a claim disputed by witnesses and organizations such as the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).
The case is under investigation by the DHS Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and the Harris County District Attorney's Office, and this Wednesday a judge halted the deportation of a key witness in the operation.
The mortality rate in ICE detention centers reached 88.9 deaths per 100,000 detainees in 2026, the highest level in 22 years, according to an analysis published in the medical journal JAMA in April, even surpassing the peak recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was 75.6 in 2020.
Among the Cubans who died in ICE custody so far in 2026 are Geraldo Lunas Campos—whose autopsy determined homicide by asphyxia—Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, and Denny Adán González, whose cases were reported between January and April.
The Mexican consular network provides legal support to the families of the victims and offers assistance for the repatriation of remains, while High Commissioner Türk had already called in January 2026 for independent and transparent investigations into deaths in immigration custody in the United States.
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