The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) reported on Wednesday that the Mexican government last week filed a total of 20 complaints with prosecutor’s offices in the U.S. regarding the deaths of Mexican citizens in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or during ICE operations.

The federal government first announced on July 9 that it would file criminal complaints in connection with the deaths of 17 Mexicans, 14 of whom died in ICE detention centers since May 2025 and three of whom died during ICE operations.

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President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday, July 13, that the complaints would be filed that day. Her administration is seeking thorough investigations into the deaths of all Mexicans who have died under ICE custody or in ICE operations.

In an “information note” published on Wednesday, the SRE said that on July 13, Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States, Roberto Lazzeri, filed 20 complaints “in the jurisdictions where the deaths occurred,” namely Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas.

The ministry said that eight complaints were filed with state prosecutors’ offices and 12 were filed with county prosecutors’ offices.

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The SRE also said that on July 14, “the Mexican Embassy in the United States forwarded to the Department of Justice, through the Department of State, the complaint submitted by the Attorney General of Mexico regarding the 17 cases, along with a formal request to open the corresponding investigations and to provide an update on their progress.”

The deaths of Mexicans in ICE custody and ICE operations — including that of an 18th Mexican who was hit by a truck in Florida last week while running away from ICE officers — have occurred as the Trump administration pursues an aggressive deportation agenda. On numerous occasions, Sheinbaum has expressed her opposition to that agenda, and last week she said she disagreed with U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for continued immigration traffic stops.

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After the death of Alejandro Cabrera Clemente in an ICE detention center in April, Sheinbaum said she had instructed staff in Mexican consulates in the U.S. to visit ICE detention centers on a daily basis to check on the welfare of detained Mexicans.

“They were visiting them once a week, but now I asked them to visit every day,” she said.

The Mexican government has asserted that poor conditions in detention centers in the United States and a lack of medical care for people in ICE custody have caused or at least contributed to the deaths of Mexicans.