Mexico files lawsuit against Trump’s ICE violence

The check was carried out because a passenger in the van resembled the “target person”, according to the authorities. Salgado is said to have disobeyed orders and rammed an emergency vehicle as he attempted to continue driving. The ICE officer acted in self-defense. But the occupants of the car and Salgado’s family deny this. The statements can hardly be verified: the officers did not wear body cameras.

The case of the 52-year-old Mexican is reminiscent of that of Alex Pretti und Renée Goodboth were in January in Minneapolis killed by shots fired by the anti-immigration authority – without having been the actual “target” of the authority.

Salgado worked as a construction worker in Houston for 30 years after coming to the U.S. as an undocumented migrant, according to his family. He was about to receive a work permit.

In January, as today, the killing is causing protests: people are taking to the streets in Houston – in the deep red state of Texas – to demand consequences for the violence. No immigration officer has been charged in connection with the deaths, including after the fatal shooting in Minneapolis.

But this time the killing also has foreign policy consequences: The government of Mexico announced that it would file complaints with prosecutors in several US states and with the US Department of Justice.

More than 60 deaths

Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaumone of the last remaining left-leaning leaders in Latin America and one of the last to stand up to Trump, announced: “We cannot allow the mistreatment of our brothers and sisters in the United States.” 17 Mexican citizens have so far died in ICE custody and during arrests. According to the United Nations, a total of 62 people have died in ICE custody since 2024 through June 2026. Salgado was the 10th victim killed by an ICE officer’s gunfire.

So far, Mexico has tried to resolve the conflict through purely diplomatic channels. Now they also want to take civil action against the private companies that operate the prisons for the US authorities. Mexico’s government announced that the companies would be served with cease-and-desist orders.

Family wants independent investigation

The internal supervisory body of the US Department of Homeland Security announced an investigation, that too FBI determined. When investigating the cases However, disputes over the responsibilities and competencies of the different investigators hindered the investigation by Pretti and Good.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s family, civil rights organizations and Democratic politicians are calling for an independent investigation into the operation. The authority whose emergency services fired the shots could not carry out the investigation at the same time, said Roman Palomares from the civil rights organization LULAC. Texas Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Green spoke of the need to rule out a possible cover-up attempt.