The Government of Mexico filed 20 complaints against members of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals.
The deaths occurred during operations or while the migrants were in ICE custody in different states across the United States.
Roberto Velasco, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, said the legal actions seek to guarantee justice for the victims and their families.
Mexico files complaints against ICE over deaths of 17 Mexican migrants
“An appeal was made to U.S. authorities to conduct prompt investigations and ensure that the responsible authorities guarantee the human rights of the victims.”
“Of course, there should be justice in these cases,” Velasco said during Wednesday’s morning press conference.
Why it matters: Mexico wants U.S. authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths and determine responsibility in each of the reported cases.
Complaints filed with state and district prosecutors’ offices
Velasco explained that the 17 Mexicans died from May 2025 through the present during operations or while in ICE custody.
The cases occurred in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri and Texas.
In response to these incidents, the Government of Mexico filed eight complaints with state prosecutors’ offices and another 12 with district attorneys’ offices.
The attorneys general of Illinois, Texas, Florida and California reported receiving the complaints submitted by Mexican authorities.
The district attorneys in Atlanta, Chicago, Oxnard and San Bernardino also confirmed receipt.
The Mexican government is now awaiting responses and decisions from U.S. authorities.
“In the other cases, in the remaining 16 cases, naturally we are following up,” Velasco explained.
The official added that Mexico expects to learn “what decisions each of the prosecutors’ offices where these complaints were filed will make.”
The complaint filed by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office regarding the 17 deaths was also forwarded to the U.S. Department of Justice.
In addition, Mexico formally requested that the corresponding investigations be opened in these cases.
Mexico takes the cases to the United Nations
The Mexican government’s actions also reached the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, headed by Volker Türk.
Mexico sent a letter to the official as part of its efforts to defend Mexican citizens in the United States.
In his response, Türk expressed awareness of and concern about the situation affecting members of the Mexican community residing in U.S. territory.
Velasco stressed that these actions are not intended to generate a conflict between the governments of Mexico and the United States.
Instead, he said, the objective is to protect Mexican nationals and seek justice for the migrants who died.
“It is a priority for the Foreign Ministry to address this, obviously not with the aim of generating a conflict with the U.S. government,” he said.
“But naturally, this is something that the government, and particularly the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, must address as a priority,” he added.
Mexican government allocates resources to repatriate remains
The Government of Mexico is also providing support to the families of those who died in the United States.
As part of these efforts, it is allocating $24,788 to repatriate the victims’ remains.
The cases come amid the tightening of U.S. immigration policy following Donald Trump’s return to the presidency.
The measures include tougher sanctions for people who enter the country irregularly and an increase in immigration raids.
Between January 20, 2025 and August 13, 2026, a total of 271,193 Mexicans were repatriated.
According to figures from Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM), 171,508 of those people entered Mexico by land.
Another 99,685 people were repatriated by air during the same period.
Mexican authorities are continuing to follow up on the complaints while awaiting decisions from the U.S. prosecutors’ offices involved.
Source: msn
