Mexico Seeks U.S. Criminal Charges Over Migrant Deaths in ICE Operations
Sheinbaum's move comes amid backlash over fatal shootings in Maine and Houston
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that her government will formally request that U.S. prosecutors file criminal charges over the deaths of Mexican citizens during U.S. immigration enforcement operations, Al Jazeera reported.
The announcement adds a diplomatic dimension to the mounting controversy in the United States over a string of fatal encounters between Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and migrants in recent days.
An ICE officer fatally shot a Colombian national in Biddeford, Maine, the BBC and Al Jazeera reported — the second such fatality within a week, following the shooting death of a migrant in Houston. The Department of Homeland Security said the officer in Maine acted out of fear for "public safety" while conducting "targeted surveillance on the last known address" of an undocumented migrant, the agency said in a statement cited by the Hill.
The killings have triggered political backlash. Leading Democratic candidates in Maine's Senate race joined hundreds of protesters calling for ICE to be "abolished" after the Biddeford shooting, Fox News reported. Musician Dave Matthews paused a concert to condemn ICE agents over the Houston death, calling them "a--holes," according to Fox News.
Sheinbaum's request would seek to have U.S. courts pursue cases against ICE personnel involved in the deaths of Mexican citizens, marking a rare formal push by a foreign government for prosecutions tied to American immigration enforcement.
— Compiled from reporting by Al Jazeera, the BBC, the Hill and Fox News.