Mexico City. Despite the Mexican government’s demands for answers regarding the deaths of 15 Mexican nationals in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the United States has not provided “specific answers” for each case, lamented President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
During her morning press conference, when asked about the issue, the president acknowledged that during her phone calls with her U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, she has not addressed the issue of immigration detention centers or the deaths of Mexicans in those facilities.
“We have raised the issue of Mexicans abroad. Specifically regarding detention centers, we have not discussed it, but we are indeed opposed to ICE detentions,” she stated.
She stated that Mexico has requested that the relevant authorities in the United States conduct the necessary investigations into these cases. “The U.S. government must do so, and at the same time, in the event of a complaint, the public prosecutor’s office and the judiciary must also investigate to determine the circumstances under which these incidents occurred.”
After reports emerged yesterday of the death of yet another Mexican national in an ICE immigration detention center, the head of the federal executive branch said she had instructed Mexican consuls in the United States to conduct daily visits to these detention facilities.
She stated that after ICE reported the death of another Mexican national in its custody, this time in Winnfield County, Louisiana, the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) sent “a very strong letter” and a statement to Washington.
“We are currently bringing this matter before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and we are also looking into filing complaints with other United Nations bodies regarding these practices in detention centers,” she stated.
She noted that he had issued instructions “to all consuls in locations where there are detention centers run by U.S. government agencies, such as ICE, to visit the detention centers daily. They used to visit them once a week; I asked them to visit daily—if not the consul personally, then someone from the consulate.”
She said that if necessary, Foreign Affairs Secretary Roberto Velasco should contact the U.S. Department of State to ensure that Mexican consuls are allowed daily access to the detention centers so they can assist our compatriots there, rather than just once a week.
President Sheinbaum Pardo said that they are supporting the families of Mexican nationals in their legal complaints regarding the deaths of their loved ones.
Original text by Emir Olivares and Alonso Urrutia published in La Jornada on April 14th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.