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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum vowed to pursue “significant legal measures” against the United States after a Mexican national was fatally shot during an ICE operation in Texas.
Mexican officials counted 17 cases of Mexican nationals who have died in U.S. immigration custody, while Sheinbaum focused on Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, an illegal migrant who has lived in the United States for decades.
DHS officials claimed Araujo was the subject of an ICE arrest operation when an agent shot him in self-defense because he allegedly ignored orders and allegedly attempted to ram the agent.
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During Sheinbaum’s daily “Mañanera del Pueblo” press availability in Mexico City, she laid out her planned escalation of objections against U.S. immigration enforcement’s behavior.
“Our goal is to go beyond diplomatic notes and the representations we made to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. We cannot tolerate the mistreatment of our fellow citizens, our brothers and sisters, in the United States. So, we are proposing further measures,” Sheinbaum said in Spanish.
Sheinbaum said the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs will present the measures to Washington, and commented on Araujo’s death.
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“This occurred in the context of detention, even though their only offense was lacking documentation — and this despite having been hired by a U.S. company.”
She said the U.S. has no reason to hold people like Araujo in detention or allegedly “subject [them] to violence.”
“We are therefore preparing, obviously, more significant legal measures.”
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On Thursday, Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said he is requesting criminal charges be brought in connection with the 17 Mexican nationals who died in U.S. custody, according to the AP, which reported the requests will be sent to the Justice Department and various state attorneys general.
Multiple reports suggested Sheinbaum’s demands would have no legal effect in U.S. courts.
Mexico City has claimed 14 of the 17 died in custody while three have been killed during active DHS operations, according to the outlet.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department and DHS for comment. The White House directed Fox News Digital to DHS.
Araujo, 52, was reportedly transporting workers to a jobsite for a homebuilding company in the Magnolia Park section of Houston.
As critics disputed the government’s recounting of events, objections arose over the lack of bodycams on the agents on-scene.
A DHS spokesperson defended the agents, telling Fox News they had not been issued body-worn cameras because of the repercussions of the Democrat-backed agency shutdown earlier this year.
“The process of purchasing and issuing body-worn cameras to all of our ICE field offices was interrupted by the Democrats multiple government shutdowns. Body cameras have been deployed to more than half the field offices, with the remaining half to receive them in the next 60 days,” a spokesperson said, while noting a 1,300% increase in assaults against agents during the same period.
Meanwhile, advocacy group Voto Latino condemned the Araujo incident, saying that the Mexican national should still be alive.
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“His story is the embodiment of what it means to seek the American Dream — the same dream that drives so many of us to call this nation home. Lorenzo called the United States home for nearly 35 years, and his family deserves immediate answers that come from a completely independent process, not from the very agency that upended their lives,” Voto Latino executive director Beatriz Lopez said in a statement, which also called for Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s resignation.
Asked about Sheinbaum’s warning, an ICE spokesperson defended the agency and the accounting of events depicting Araujo as trying to hit an agent.
“[He] refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense,” the spokesperson said.
“DHS-OIG is leading an investigation into the agent-involved shooting. FBI Houston is leading an investigation into the potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer. This is a developing situation, and we will update the public when more information is available.”
Fox News’ Brooke Taylor and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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