52 people died in ICE custody in the 16 months after President Trump took office, as of June 2026 — 17 of them Mexican nationals. On July 7, ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Houston resident who had lived in the US for decades. The agents stopped his vehicle during an operation targeting someone else. On July 14, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that Mexico had begun filing criminal complaints with US state prosecutors and the Department of Justice, seeking charges against ICE agents responsible for the deaths. Mexico is also filing civil lawsuits against private detention center operators and has asked the UN to investigate whether the deaths are consistent with US international obligations.

1. Mexico Says These Are Homicides (President Claudia Sheinbaum, Human Rights Watch)

Mexico has moved from diplomatic protests to criminal complaints in US courts — a step no foreign government has taken before.

Deaths outpaced the growth in the detention population. Human Rights Watch documented 52 deaths in 16 months — a nearly triple increase over the Biden-era rate — even as the detained population grew 77%. Deaths increased 138%.

Mexico can't stay silent, Sheinbaum says. She's described the 17 deaths as homicides or human rights violations. "We are going to do everything in our power, because we cannot stand silent," she said.

ICE facilities are over capacity and under-monitored. Most deaths occurred at facilities running more than 242 detainees above historical capacity. The Trump administration dismantled independent DHS oversight mechanisms, and solitary confinement placements rose 6.5% per month.

People died from conditions that went undiagnosed. Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39, a Mexican national, died from septic shock after an infected abscess went undiagnosed for weeks, despite his repeated complaints of pain and fever, according to Human Rights Watch. He's one of 14 who died in ICE detention.

Mexico went beyond criminal complaints. It also sent cease-and-desist letters to private detention operators and asked UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to request information from US authorities.

2. But DHS Says There's No Spike (Department of Homeland Security)

The administration is defending individual enforcement actions and rejecting the premise of a crisis.

The mortality rate in ICE custody hasn't spiked, DHS says. A DHS official told Axios the rate is 0.008% of the detained population — and described claims of a spike as false.

The administration is standing by its agents in the Houston shooting. Officers stopped Salgado Araujo's van because someone inside resembled their target. DHS says the stop followed established procedure, though the agency acknowledged it wasn't him.

Even experts who take the deaths seriously say criminal complaints in US courts are a long shot.

No foreign government has done this before. No government has previously filed criminal complaints in US courts over the deaths of its citizens during US immigration enforcement operations. There's also no record of any US state or federal prosecutor ever charging ICE agents for conduct during enforcement operations.

The US-Mexico relationship is already at its worst point in four decades. Tony Payan, executive director of the U.S.-Mexico center at Rice University's Baker Institute, called this "probably one of the toughest moments in the relationship since 1985." The complaints land on top of existing friction over trade, Trump's cartel designations, and the failed US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement renewal.

Mexico has already raised the diplomatic stakes. Eric Olson, a Mexico-US policy expert, said the stakes are already elevated compared to any prior Mexican legal action against the US. The complaints have moved ICE deaths from a diplomatic grievance to a formal legal matter — even before any prosecutor acts.

Where This Lands

Mexico is asking US prosecutors to treat ICE agents as criminals. DHS says agents followed the law and the death rate hasn't spiked. Legal experts say no foreign government has ever filed complaints like these before — and no US prosecutor has ever charged ICE agents for conduct during enforcement operations. Sheinbaum has made ICE deaths a formal legal matter for the first time, in both US courts and at the UN.

Sources