Mexico urges US to provide information on Mexican immigrant who died in ICE custody

MEXICO CITY

Mexico is demanding the US to disclose information on the Mexican immigrant who died while detained by US authorities, President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday.

The unidentified Mexican national died on June 7 while being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Stewart, Georgia, where he was transferred from a state penitentiary in the city of Jackson, according to Mexico's Foreign Ministry.

"It is a person who registered under a different name and did not register their nationality. That’s the investigation that has been made by the Foreign Ministry, and more information was requested to know what were the conditions of their death," Sheinbaum said.

This death comes amid President Donald Trump's aggressive crackdown on immigration, where raids have resulted in the arrest of over 60 Mexican immigrants in the last week.

The raids have drawn concern from Mexico's government. President Sheinbaum has called for the Trump administration to respect the human rights of the targeted immigrants while urging reform to protect immigrants' rights in the US.

"We will always seek respect for the human rights of Mexicans abroad," she added.

The hostile stance on immigration by authorities has mobilized US citizens in mass demonstrations across the country, especially in cities that have long represented a haven for immigrants, such as Los Angeles in California.

The protests were immediately condemned by Trump, who praised his decision to deploy military troops to subdue the demonstrators in Los Angeles.

The use of the Mexican flag during the protests became a focal point for anti-immigration hardliners in the US and for the Mexican president, who claimed that the image of protestors committing violent acts while waving the flag is a manufactured narrative aimed at hurting Mexico and Mexicans.

"This image that they want to promote — that Mexicans in the United States are violent — is false. It is a set-up, it is a provocation," she said.