These are the 17 Mexicans whose ICE-related deaths prompted Mexico to demand accountability
Mexico Seeks Justice After 17 Nationals Perish in US Immigration Enforcement
These are the 17 Mexicans whose – Seventeen Mexican citizens have lost their lives during a sweeping immigration crackdown initiated under President Donald Trump’s second administration, prompting Mexico to demand formal accountability from American authorities. These individuals represented diverse backgrounds—some had established decades-long careers, families, and community ties within the United States, while others are remembered primarily through their names, ages, arrest records, and locations where they passed away.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly expressed the nation’s collective grief, stating that the entire country shared in the sorrow experienced by the families of those who died. In response to these tragedies, Mexico initiated a two-pronged approach on Monday by filing complaints with both state and federal prosecutors in the United States, requesting criminal investigations into the circumstances surrounding each death. Additionally, the Mexican government dispatched cease-and-desist letters to private corporations operating detention facilities where Mexican nationals had perished.
According to information gathered from both Mexican and American authorities, fourteen of the deceased men died while in immigration custody—either within detention centers or in medical facilities where they had been transferred for treatment. The remaining three individuals died during active immigration enforcement operations. The most recent fatality involves Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a fifty-two-year-old construction worker who was shot fatally by an ICE officer during an operation in Houston last week.
In an email sent to CNN, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied that there has been an increase in deaths in its facilities or operations and assured that detained individuals “receive full due process and are provided with proper meals, water, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.”
The DHS also refuted allegations that its officials committed abuses during these incidents. Below is a detailed account of the seventeen Mexicans whose cases prompted Mexico’s government to strengthen its diplomatic response.
Individual Cases and Circumstances
Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado, aged sixty-eight, passed away on May 5, 2025, during transport from Lowndes County jail to the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. ICE indicated that preliminary findings pointed to a medical complication as the cause of death. The agency noted that he had resided in the United States for many years as an undocumented immigrant and had been detained on multiple occasions since 1979. Although a judge ordered his deportation in 1990, he subsequently returned to the country. ICE reported that he faced charges spanning from marijuana possession to simple assault involving family violence and cruelty toward children.
Jesús Molina Veya, forty-five years old, died on June 7, 2025, at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. He was discovered unconscious in his cell with a ligature around his neck before being transported to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. ICE stated that he had entered the United States as an undocumented immigrant on several occasions and was deported four times. The agency reported that he was charged with crimes including simple assault, child abuse, and unlawful restraint, serving a jail sentence of 827 days for these offenses.
Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, thirty-two, died on August 31, 2025, while held in immigration custody. ICE reported that he suffered from diabetes, contracted Covid-19 during his detention, and experienced respiratory problems before being found unresponsive. Despite resuscitation efforts, he did not survive. He entered the United States as an undocumented immigrant on an unspecified date. Between 2018 and 2025, he was detained multiple times for drug use, possession, and driving under the influence, receiving a ten-day confinement sentence in 2024 for DUI.
Óscar Rascón Duarte, fifty-eight, died on September 8, 2025, at Banner Desert Medical Center in Arizona. According to ICE, he battled advanced-stage Alzheimer’s disease, right kidney cancer, and hepatitis C. He entered the United States in 1976 as an undocumented immigrant and was deported in 2004, though he re-entered the country on the same day he was removed to Mexico. Between 1984 and 2000, he faced accusations for crimes including burglary, theft, and drug possession. In 2005, he received a twenty-year prison sentence for attempted sexual contact with a minor and child abuse, completing his sentence in January 2025 when immigration proceedings against him resumed.
Ismael Ayala Uribe, thirty-nine, died on September 22, 2025, in a California hospital following cardiac arrest. ICE reported that the Mexican national, who was hypertensive and exhibited abnormal tachycardia, was referred on September 21 at noon to Victor Valley Global Medical Center for an abscess on his buttock and was later found unresponsive.