Mexico Plans U.S. Criminal Complaints Over Deaths of Mexican Nationals in ICE Custody

According to Axios, Mexico plans to file criminal complaints with U.S. prosecutors over the deaths of Mexican nationals in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Álvarez said Thursday, after previously lodging diplomatic protests. Velasco Álvarez said Mexico will ask U.S. authorities to investigate the incidents as criminal matters, and he also plans to ask the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate. Mexico has sent the U.S. 11 formal diplomatic protest notes seeking explanations, and Velasco Álvarez said 14 Mexican nationals have died in ICE custody since President Trump returned to office, with another three dying during ICE operations; Axios cited Detention Watch Network data showing 19 immigrants have died in ICE custody in 2026 and 31 last year, while ICE reported 26 total deaths across President Biden's term. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security disputed that there has been a spike in deaths and said that as of May 29 the death rate in custody under the Trump administration was 0.008% of the detained population. Axios also reported that Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot by ICE agents early Tuesday during an attempted arrest in Houston; DHS said he “weaponized his vehicle” and later died at a local hospital, and DHS and the FBI are investigating.