Mexico seeks prosecution over death of 17 Mexicans in US after Houston man shot by ICE agents

Mexico will seek criminal charges against 17 Mexican nationals who died in ICE custody or during immigration enforcement by the Trump administration, officials said Thursday.

The announcement by Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco on Thursday morning further escalated tensions with the United States, as the Mexican government has sharply criticized the treatment of its citizens under President Trump’s campaign to increase deportations.

This request, which has no legal weight, will be sent to the offices of federal prosecutors and the US Department of Justice, asking them to consider criminal charges against those who killed these people.

It will be accompanied by civil lawsuits against companies that work in detention centers in an effort to end human rights violations in those centers, said Velasco.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that Mexico had decided to “go beyond diplomatic channels” and expand its complaints after an ICE agent killed a Mexican national. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston this week.

“We’re going to do everything we can, because we can’t stand idly by” in the face of the deaths of Mexicans who are “the only crime that works honestly in the United States,” Sheinbaum said.

Salgado Araujo had been living in this country for decades. He was transporting a team to a housing construction site when he was shot. His family wanted a thorough investigation into what happened.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Thursday that ICE officials are I want someone different when they stopped his car.

“After receiving a reliable tip from our law enforcement partners, our officers conducted surveillance on the target’s address. A few weeks before the incident, they saw two white vans in the area,” DHS said. “On the 7th of July, the police almost reached the destination when they saw a white van with a person similar to the one they were targeting. The police then stopped the car.”

DHS initially said Tuesday that ICE officials were targeting Salgado Araujo because he was living in the country without legal permission. The Department says he was shot after ignoring “voice commands” and trying to overrun a police officer who fired his weapon in self-defense. Houston firefighters said Salgado Araujo was hit in the stomach, and his car collided with an ICE vehicle.

He was taken to a hospital but died from his injuries, according to DHS.

According to the Mexican government, there are 14 Mexican nationals died while on ICE maintenance and 3 during ICE operation. In 2025, 31 ICE detainees died, a 10-year high, according to a CBS News analysis of ICE records.

So far, the Mexican government has supported the families of the victims, sent official notes to Washington demanding an investigation, and raised the issue with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Sheinbaum earlier this year ordered consulates to conduct regular checks on ICE detainees, and his government even filed a complaint with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Mexico’s latest request adds to an already strained relationship with the Trump administration. Sheinbaum cracked down harder than his predecessors on organized crime after Trump’s growing threats of military action against the cartels. He also sought to maintain good relations with his US counterpart as the countries renegotiate a decades-old free trade agreement. At the same time, he took a strong stance on immigration enforcement and the rights of Mexican citizens detained in the US.