Sheinbaum vows to take action after another Mexican national dies in ICE custody

PHOENIX – Following two deaths of Mexican nationals while under U.S. immigration custody in March, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum vowed to take action against the U.S. by joining a lawsuit introduced earlier this year in Los Angeles and by bringing the issue before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

At least 14 people have died while in immigration custody in 2026, while a total of 45 have lost their lives since the start of the second Trump administration. According to Detention Watch Network, a national advocacy organization that works to end immigration detention and tracks deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, these numbers don't include those who have died during enforcement operations that began in January 2025.

Sheinbaum’s announcement came after she was notified of the death of José Ramos-Solano, who was declared dead at a nearby hospital after being found unresponsive while in custody at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California on March 25, and Royer Pérez Jiménez, 19, who died by “presumed suicide” at Glades County Detention Facility in Florida on March 16, according to ICE news releases. 

Pérez Jiménez is the youngest person to have died in ICE custody.

During a Monday press conference, the Mexican president said her government would file an amicus brief as part of a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year against the Department of Justice — which oversees ICE and other immigration and border enforcement agencies — claiming unsanitary conditions in detention centers, punitive isolation, limited access to medical and mental health care, restricted access to the outdoors and a lack of adequate nutrition and water services.

Furthermore, the Mexican Embassy in the United States will send letters to federal lawmakers to report on the “deficient medical care” at the Adelanto detention center, while a “thematic hearing” regarding deaths in detention centers will be presented before the IACHR.

In a statement following Pérez Jiménez’s death, Carly Pérez Fernández, communications director at Detention Watch Network, said the organization would continue to work to stop a system that “deprives people of freedom, isolates people away from loved ones, and subjects people to abysmal conditions, including inadequate medical care and mental health services, inedible food, and racist abuse.”

“As Congress continues to battle over Department of Homeland Security funding, the demand to cut ICE funding and repeal the billions of dollars passed in last year’s reconciliation bill remains abundantly clear, urgent, and necessary. We must collectively call for an end to the ICE age to keep people and communities safe,” Pérez Fernández said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.