Media: Mexico files US legal complaints over deaths of citizens in immigration custody

Mexico has started filing criminal complaints with state prosecutors in the United States over the deaths of its citizens in U.S. immigration detention, and during enforcement operations, the foreign ministry said on July 14, marking an escalation in its response to the incidents, Reuters writes.

The ministry said it has also issued cease-and-desist letters to U.S. detention facilities where Mexican nationals have died.

The legal action follows the deaths of at least 14 Mexican citizens in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as several others who died during immigration enforcement operations. Among the latest cases was the fatal shooting of a Mexican national by an ICE agent in Houston.

President Claudia Sheinbaum announced last week that Mexico would intensify its response, saying the government "cannot turn a blind eye to the Mexicans who have died."

Separately, Mexico's foreign minister has raised the issue with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, seeking international scrutiny of the deaths of Mexican nationals in ICE custody.

According to the foreign ministry, Mexico expects the U.N. office to obtain information from U.S. authorities, assess the incidents and "refer the case to the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council."

By Aghakazim Guliyev