Mexican officials announced Thursday that they will file criminal complaints in the United States against immigration agents for the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals. The deaths occurred either while people were in ICE custody or during arrest operations The New York Times. Fourteen people died while detained by ICE; three died during arrest operations CNN.

The case drawing the most attention is Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. He was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Houston on July 7 during a vehicle stop Reuters. A Texas congresswoman said Salgado Araujo was not the intended target of the operation AP News. Mexico plans to pursue charges against the officer at both the state and federal level Instagram/Facebook via ABC News.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about these deaths publicly on July 9 Presidencia. She said, "Vamos a hacer todo lo que esté en nuestras manos" — "We will do everything within our power." Mexico's foreign ministry has begun taking formal action in response Presidencia.

Politicians in Mexico have also responded quickly. Senator Juan Carlos Loera condemned Salgado Araujo's death on July 9 Morena Senate. His party's parliamentary group said this killing fits a broader pattern of deaths involving ICE, not a one-time incident.

In Houston, the shooting has sparked protests. More than a thousand people marched on July 8 near where Salgado Araujo was killed, chanting "ICE out of Houston" and demanding an independent investigation Reuters.

What Mexico is doing is unusual. Normally, when someone dies at the hands of a government official, the country's government handles the complaint through diplomatic channels — conversations between officials behind closed doors. Mexico is instead trying to get American courts to prosecute U.S. immigration agents as criminals. This is difficult because U.S. law typically protects government officials from prosecution when they are doing their jobs. Federal law sets an especially high bar: the Justice Department rarely charges police officers for shootings that happen during their work. Mexico is also filing charges in Texas state court, where prosecutors may have more freedom to act.

Mexico is treating these 17 deaths as a pattern of wrongdoing rather than separate, isolated incidents. Deaths while in custody raise questions about how people were treated and cared for. Deaths during arrest operations, like Salgado Araujo's, raise questions about whether the use of force was justified. By filing complaints for both types of deaths together, Mexico is signaling it views this as a broader problem requiring accountability.

This move puts pressure on Mexico's government. President Sheinbaum has tried to avoid major conflict with the United States over immigration while maintaining cooperation on trade and security. Filing criminal complaints against American federal agents is a direct challenge to that balance. It also reflects pressure from Mexican lawmakers and protesters in Houston, a city with many Mexican-American residents. Whether these complaints actually lead to prosecutions depends on decisions by Texas prosecutors and federal Justice Department officials — decisions they have not yet announced.