Amnesty I seeks “independent & Impartial” Investigation!
Mexico City, Jul 16 (EFE).-
Amnesty International urged the United States authorities on Thursday to launch “independent and impartial” investigations into the “deplorable” deaths of 18 Mexican nationals during immigration operations or while in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“The US government is obligated to independently investigate all deaths and allegations of abuse that occur under ICE custody,” AI stated in a post on X.
The organization’s demand follows the confirmation that a Mexican man was struck and killed by a vehicle on Tuesday following an immigration operation in Florida, adding to other recent cases involving ICE agents.
In response, Amnesty International welcomed the criminal complaints filed by the Mexican government with the US Department of Justice.
Simultaneously, the organization reiterated that countries have the “obligation to protect the life” of all individuals “regardless of their legal status or nationality,” and must “guarantee dignified detention conditions when such detention is strictly necessary.”
“Amnesty International has documented arbitrary detentions, unsanitary conditions, lack of medical care, obstacles to legal representation, prolonged isolation, sleep deprivation, and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment,” the organization reported regarding immigration raids and conditions within ICE detention centers.
This latest death during an immigration operation occurs amid increasing scrutiny of ICE tactics. In the past week alone, two men were fatally shot by agents while driving: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 30-year-old Mexican father of three, on Jul. 7 in Texas, and 26-year-old Colombian national Joan Sebastián Guerrero, on Monday in Maine.
In addition to filing complaints in the US, the Mexican government has requested that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, gather information on these incidents.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged Washington on Thursday to avoid “criminalizing” migration and to act with respect for human rights.
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