Since President Donald Trump launched the current immigration crackdown, at least 14 Mexican nationals have died in the custody of US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and three more have reportedly died in arrests conducted by the agency. Most recently, on July 7, an ICE agent shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national who had been living in the US without legal documentation for more than three decades.

His killing—which sparked protests in Houston, where Araujo had lived for nearly 35 years, and throughout Mexico—marked at least six people shot dead in ICE operations since early 2025, when Trump returned to office and launched a campaign of mass deportations. In addition to several formal diplomatic protest letters to the US government, demanding a “prompt and thorough investigation,” Sheinbaum’s government has also filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). However, in light of the new deaths and the apparent lack of tangible progress in the United States, the Mexican government has decided to escalate the matter to the criminal justice system.

“We cannot turn a blind eye to the Mexicans who have died,” Sheinbaum said during her daily press conference. “We cannot allow the mistreatment of our brothers and sisters who are in the United States—our fellow citizens. Therefore, we will propose other measures.”

She added that her government is prepared to assist all citizens who request it, but especially to “Mexicans whose only crime is working honestly in the United States.”

In addition to formally requesting that the US Department of Justice open criminal investigations into the killings, Sheinbaum said her government will bring civil lawsuits in the US courts against the companies that operate detention centers for ICE.

The announcement represents a significant escalation as relations between the two neighbors continue to worsen. Addressing the press during that day’s conference, Mexico’s Foreign Secretary Robert Velasco stated that a request will also be made to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to demand protection for Mexican nationals in ICE custody.

The move underscores Mexico’s growing willingness to challenge US immigration enforcement through international and legal channels, as pressure mounts for accountability over deaths tied to detention and arrest operations. With tensions already strained, the moves could further deepen the diplomatic rift between Washington and Mexico.

From JURIST, July 10. Used with permission.

See our last report on the struggle in Texas.

Photo of Houston protest against ICE: Jessica Bolanos via Wikimedia Commons

Türk noted that at least 52 people have died in ICE custody since the beginning of 2025, following President Donald Trump’s return to office and the start of the administration’s expanded immigration enforcement policies. According to official figures, 18 people died in ICE detention during the first five months of this year, with an additional death recorded in June, while 33 deaths were documented during 2025 overall—compared with 11 in 2024.

Türk stressed that governments have an obligation under international human rights law to protect the right to life, particularly when individuals are deprived of their liberty. Authorities must provide detainees with adequate medical care and other necessary protections while in custody, he emphasized.

Human Rights Watch issued a similar warning on June 25. The group also noted that, under official ICE policy, the government is expected to provide families with relevant information following a death in custody, including medical records and investigative findings.

However, a report by Physicians for Human Rights concluded that in all 39 cases it reviewed, the government failed to publicly disclose sufficient information regarding the circumstances surrounding the deaths, or the medical treatment provided in detention, preventing independent clinical assessment.

Earlier this year, Türk expressed concern over US immigration enforcement practices, stating that individuals suspected of lacking legal immigration status have been arrested, “sometimes violently,” at hospitals, places of worship, courthouses, schools, markets and private homes. Noting “unnecessary or disproportionate” use of force in these detentions, he emphasized that under international human rights law, the intentional use of lethal force is permissible only as a last resort against an individual posing an imminent threat to life.

ICE is reportedly detaining more than 60,000 individuals at present, compared with approximately 40,000 detainees in early 2025, and has announced plans to expand detention capacity to 90,000 by the end of 2026.

According to Human Rights Watch, the mortality rate in ICE custody has reached its highest level in more than a decade, exceeding rates recorded during both the first Trump administration and the COVID-19 pandemic. Rights groups and the UN have both called for urgent action to ensure accountability for deaths in custody and to safeguard the lives of those held in immigration detention.

From JURIST, June 26. Used with permission.

Photo: ICE via Wikimedia Commons

Mosbah and her colleagues are affiliated with the anti-racism and rights organization Mnemty (“My Dream”), with Mosbah serving as president. In May 2024, Mosbah and several other activists, including her co-defendants, were arrested on charges of money laundering and “illicit enrichment.” In March, the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced Mosbah to eight years in prison and a fine of TND122,000 (approx. USD$36,000) while her colleagues were given prison terms of between one and three years as well as fines of up to TND64,000 (approx. $22,000).

Rights organizations have called the charges a miscarriage of justice and asserted that the investigative judge presiding in the case failed to provide any conclusive evidence that the activists had engaged in illegal financial activities. Amnesty’s North Africa researcher Safia Rayan stated:

The initial verdict issued on 19 March against Saadia Mosbah and other Mnemty staff and collaborators, among them four who now risk imminent arrest, is shocking and profoundly unjust. It is another appalling indictment of the Tunisian authorities’ ongoing weaponization of the criminal justice system to silence civil society. It is shocking how far the authorities are willing to go in their assault on the right to freedom of association and human rights work, disproportionately targeting Black and anti-racism defenders.

Amnesty also criticized the statutory provision used to convict Mosbah and her colleagues. Specifically, the rights group said that the definition of “illicit enrichment” is not clearly defined, and that there is ambiguity in the language “important increase in the fortune of the person.” This has led to allegations that the charges were brought in retaliation against Mosbah and her colleagues as part of a campaign to repress rights groups. The appellate hearings opened last month. The appeal presents renewed hope that the convictions will be overturned.

As president of Mnemty, Mosbah has spearheaded multiple efforts to address the country’s longstanding issue of racism against minority groups, particularly the Black Tunisian community who make up roughly 10 to 15% of the country’s population. In 2018, this work culminated in the adoption of Organic Law 2018-50, which criminalized racial discrimination and made Tunisia the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to do so. Amnesty said her position as a key figure in the fight for equality in Tunisia led to her arrest; she has remained in detention ever since. Rights experts are also concerned about reports of Mosbah being subjected to racist abuse and physical assault tantamount to torture in prison.

In recent years, racism against Black Tunisians has been exacerbated by official political rhetoric, amid a rise in xenophobia and violence. Amnesty has accused Tunisian President Kais Saied of inciting racial discrimination and fueling a hostile environment in the country. Tunisia is a party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits discrimination based on race.

From JURIST, June 19. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: Huda1977 via Wikimedia Commons

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on June 18 detailed abuses endured by communities in Minneapolis and St. Paul during the occupation of the Twin Cities area by immigration officers. According to HRW, officers terrorized residents, committed widespread human rights violations, and exposed “deeply abusive” tendencies within US immigration enforcement.

The statement accompanied HRW’s new report, “A Manufactured Crisis,” an in-depth accounting of the abuses committed by federal agents in the Twin Cities between December 2025 and March 2026—the duration of their deployment in Minnesota.

HRW found that Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal officers engaged in racial profiling, threatened residents with lethal force, deployed chemical irritants, demolished property, and fatally shot two US citizens during their campaign.

“The federal government sent hordes of masked, armed agents to grab people off the street, whisk them away in shackles, and abuse those who sought to bear witness,” said Reagan Williams, HRW conflict and crisis researcher.

Dubbed “Operation Metro Surge,” the massive deployment of ICE agents in Minnesota was part of President Donald Trump’s broader controversial immigration enforcement scheme, and was the largest interior deployment of immigration agents since he took office in January 2025. President Trump has deployed ICE agents to several cities across the US, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicated that the purpose of the federal operation was to “keep Americans safe and ERADICATE fraud,” saying they would not leave the city until they achieved the agency’s objective. However, the HRW report asserts that the occupation had the opposite effect, creating a widespread atmosphere of terror.

Throughout his new term, President Trump has made clear his intent to enforce stricter immigration and mass deportation policies, often stating that he would primarily target non-citizen residents with criminal histories. However, HRW found that during the Minnesota campaign, ICE officials detained approximately 4,000 immigrants, over 75% of whom had no criminal history, and many of whom were detained arbitrarily.

While the Trump administration has officially concluded Operation Metro Surge, its effects will reverberate through the state of Minnesota for many years to come. The city of Minneapolis has estimated nearly $700 million in community impacts, stemming from property damage, residents’ inability to go to work, and food and shelter needs. Additionally, the Trump administration is prosecuting Minnesota residents and government officials on separate charges related to impeding federal agents during the raids.

The HRW report calls for “urgent and comprehensive” action to repair the harms suffered in Minnesota, and for the federal government to stop its abuse of immigrants and other US residents.

“Operation Metro Surge put the violent and abusive practices of these agencies on full display. We have clear proof of how they operate when impunity prevails, and we need to urgently chart a new way forward through accountability and structural reforms that put an end to these abuses,” Williams added.

From JURIST, June 18. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: Chad Davis

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, speaking in state capital Kolkata on June 8, said nearly 5,000 Bangladeshi citizens had been deported across the border. “We have started the work of deporting Bangladeshi infiltrators who do not fall under the purview of the Citizenship Amendment Act,” Adhikari said, refering to the 2019 national law that has been assailed for denying citizenship to thousands of Muslims. (TNH, TRT World)

Mass detention of Muslims on questionable immigration grounds is most advanced in the neighboring state of Assam, leading the group Genocide Watch to issue a “warning alert” for India.

Image: Sowmya Reddy

Reporting on his visit to the CAR, Nononsi noted that despite the mostly peaceful electoral process that took place in December, the country continues to face instability due to attacks by armed groups against civilians, tensions involving nomadic pastoral communities, and spillover consequences of the conflict in Sudan. The reported attacks include forced displacements, extortion, and conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls.

The UN expert called on authorities to bring the perpetrators of rights violations to justice, and urged international partners to back CAR authorities’ efforts in combating violence and restoring security. He commended the significant role played by the Special Criminal Courtand called for its increased independence, as well as providing more support for national human rights institutions, including the National Human Rights Commission and the Truth, Justice, Reparations & Reconciliation Commission (CVJRR).

During his visit to the CAR, Nononsi met with senior representatives of the country’s authorities, UN agencies, civil society organizations, and international partners. He will present his detailed findings and recommendations in a full report to the UN Human Rights Council.

The Central African Republic has been struggling with an internal conflict between armed groups and government forces, in addition to general poverty and escalating climate hazards. In March 2025, the UN reported grave human rights violations committed by armed groups against civilians, which included torture, looting, and sexual violence against women and girls. The attacks in Haut Oubangui region, in the southeast of the country, mainly targeted Muslim communities and Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers.

From JURIST, June 2. Used with permission.

Note: The report comes nine years after a peace accord that officially put an end to the CAR’s internal conflict.

Map via Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection

The new laws are included in the state’s Fiscal Year 27 Enacted Budget. They consist of the New York for All Act and the Dignity not Detention Act. With their passage, ICE must have a judicial warrant to enter many public locations, including schools, hospitals, libraries, public parks, and polling locations. Many private locations, including houses of worship, are now explicitly allowed to require ICE to have a warrant as well. State and local employees and agencies are prohibited from sharing personal information with ICE.

The new legislation also more broadly limits cooperation with ICE by state and local employees and agencies. In particular, local governments, police forces and corrections agencies are no longer allowed to enter 287(g) agreements, under which ICE delegates immigration enforcement to state or local officers. “Police officers are taken off their jobs to do civil ICE enforcement, civil immigration enforcement,” said Hochul. “Not fighting crimes, not protecting the city, but to do ICE’s job for them. That’s what we’re ending.”

Local governments may no longer contribute to the cost of operating immigration detention centers, and they must solicit public opinion before changing zoning to allow buildings to be constructed or converted for immigrant detention.

Students’ right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) is explicitly protected under the new laws, which state that students have this right regardless of immigration status. The law also limits the collection and sharing of data related to immigration status. ICE agents will also no longer be allowed to conceal their identity with masks within New York state.

From JURIST, May 30. Used with permission.

Note: The 287(g) program has been expanded by Trump, and is being aggresively embracedin Texas. Massachusetts has already prohibited the program. It has long been met with protest for inviting abuses.

Photo of ICE agents in Minnesota: Chad Davis

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The organizations report that the administration in April re-arrested and forcibly transferred to third countries people who had previously been granted withholding of removal by US immigration judges and had prevailed on habeas petitions challenging the legality of their detention. The report documents an attempted transfer of individuals to Libya last year in violation of a court order then in effect.

Approximately 16,000 of the documented transfers have been to Mexico. That figure includes thousands of individuals the administration failed to acknowledge in a March 5 disclosure to a federal court. Roughly 1,400 additional people have been sent to 20 other countries, including Eswatini, South Sudan and Uganda. A March 2026 agreement with Costa Rica provides for regular weekly transfers.

The tracker reports that the administration has paid at least $44 million to receiving governments in connection with the agreements and has used the threat of third-country transfer to pressure detained immigrants into abandoning their legal claims.

Separately, the tracker reports that government attorneys have filed motions to “pretermit,” or dismiss without merits review, thousands of pending asylum cases in immigration court on the basis of Asylum Cooperative Agreements with Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Uganda. Citing data compiled by immigration advocacy group Mobile Pathways from Executive Office for Immigration Review records, the tracker counts nearly 9,500 such pretermissions as of February 2026. The following month, the Department of Homeland Security directed Immigration & Customs Enforcement attorneys to stop filing new pretermission motions but did not withdraw those already pending.

The administration has invoked a range of statutory and constitutional authorities to justify the transfers, including the Alien Enemies Act, and the suspension-of-entry provision at 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f). Federal judges have held several uses of those authorities unlawful, including in challenges to expulsions of Venezuelans to El Salvador and to forced transfers of people with final removal orders carried out without notice or an opportunity to raise fear-based claims.

From JURIST, May 5. Used with permission.

See our last report on the third-country deportations.

See our podcast “MAGA-fascism and the struggle in Libya”

Photo: Venezuelan deportees in Honduras. Credit: ICE via Wikimedia Commons

In related news, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last week that he and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa hope to see 80% of Syrian refugees in Germany return to Syria in the coming three years. Merz’s call for Syrians to “go back to their homeland,” which came after his meeting with al-Sharaa in Berlin, drew condemnation from human rights monitors who pointed to continued violence and insecurity in Syria. (TNH, Jurist)

Photo: Sara Creta/TNH