Mexico files criminal complaints in U.S. over deaths of Mexican migrants linked to ICE
Mexico files criminal complaints in U.S. over deaths of Mexican migrants in ICE custody and operations, seeking prosecutions, civil suits and U.N. protection.
President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Thursday, July 9, 2026, that Mexico will file criminal complaints in the United States over the deaths of Mexican migrants tied to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and enforcement operations. The move responds to what Mexico says are 17 deaths of Mexican nationals in detention centres or during immigration operations since January 2025, and signals a major escalation in bilateral diplomatic pressure.
Details of the latest fatality
Lorenzo Salgado, a 52-year-old Mexican national who had lived in the United States for nearly 35 years, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston while driving to work, Mexican officials reported. U.S. authorities have described the agent’s use of force as an act of self-defence, a claim that Mexico contests and will seek to challenge through legal channels. Salgado’s death is cited by Mexico as the most recent in the series of incidents prompting the government’s decision to pursue criminal proceedings.
Scope of Mexico’s legal strategy
Mexico’s government said it will lodge formal complaints with both state prosecutors and the U.S. federal attorney’s office, targeting those found responsible for what it describes as homicides or human rights violations. The complaints aim to secure criminal accountability in cases where evidence supports such charges and to pursue civil claims where appropriate. Officials emphasized that diplomatic notes previously sent will now be accompanied by judicial requests to ensure a legal, rather than purely diplomatic, response.
Numbers and timeline since January 2025
Mexican authorities say 17 of their nationals have died either in ICE detention facilities or during immigration enforcement operations since the return of former President Donald Trump to the White House in January 2025. The tally includes deaths that occurred inside detention centres and those during field operations, and has prompted repeated diplomatic protests from Mexico. The government has released those figures to underline the scale of its concerns and to justify a shift from protest to litigation.
U.S. federal position and ICE response
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE have defended individual agents’ actions in several cases, including the Houston shooting, arguing that officers acted in self-defence in the face of imminent threat. Federal law enforcement and oversight mechanisms can lead to internal reviews, administrative discipline or criminal investigations, depending on findings. Mexican officials say those processes have not delivered transparent or satisfactory accountability and therefore require external legal intervention.
Civil actions and corporate responsibility
Beyond criminal complaints, Mexico plans to pursue civil lawsuits against private companies that operate detention centres under contract with ICE, alleging responsibility for conditions and practices that may have contributed to deaths. The government has indicated it will hold operators to account where neglect, inadequate medical care, or unsafe conditions are alleged. The planned civil litigation reflects a broader strategy to press multiple avenues of accountability — criminal, civil and international.
Appeal to the U.N. human rights office
Mexico also intends to request protection measures for its nationals from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, seeking international oversight of conditions in detention facilities and of enforcement practices. The appeal to the U.N. office is framed as a bid to secure independent monitoring and to add international legal and political weight to Mexico’s complaints. Mexican officials said they hope U.N. involvement will increase transparency and improve protections for migrants.
Diplomatic communications have accompanied Mexico’s public statements, with formal protest notes delivered in each case according to the government. President Sheinbaum framed the step toward litigation as necessary after what she described as insufficient responses to repeated deaths, signaling a willingness to use foreign courts to pursue remedies that domestic diplomacy has not achieved.
The shift to coordinated criminal filings and civil suits is expected to complicate bilateral relations and could prompt a range of reactions from U.S. federal and state authorities, ICE contractors, and human rights organisations. For affected families, the legal actions offer a potential path toward accountability and compensation, while for governments they raise questions about jurisdiction, evidentiary standards and cross-border legal cooperation.
Mexico’s announcement marks a significant escalation in its response to a series of migrant deaths tied to immigration enforcement, and it will test mechanisms for transnational accountability when alleged state agents are involved in fatalities. The cases now moving into prosecutors’ offices and international bodies will be watched closely by rights groups, legal experts and governments on both sides of the border.
