Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Wednesday that her government will prepare new legal measures to protect Mexican nationals in U.S. immigration custody, saying the steps will go beyond diplomatic notes and complaints to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The announcement followed the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who had lived in the United States for 35 years and ran a small construction business. The Department of Homeland Security said Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle and tried to run over an officer, prompting the agent to fire in self-defense. The FBI is investigating the alleged assault on a federal officer, while DHS opened an internal review of the shooting.
The League of United Latin American Citizens called for the release of body-camera footage and witness statements, noting prior cases where ICE claims about vehicle assaults were later disproven. Salgado Araujo's death is the first fatal shooting by federal agents since January, when two U.S. citizens were killed in separate incidents that drew national outcry.