This is one death too many for Mexico. After the announcement on Monday, April 13, of the death of Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, a 49-year-old Mexican migrant who died on January 8 at the hands of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Mexican government is turning up the heat. During her morning press conference on April 14, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced that she has instructed her government to “intensify diplomatic actions” following the fifteenth death of a Mexican national in a U.S. migrant detention center since the beginning of 2026, as reported by La Silla Rota.
While highlighting that U.S. authorities have not provided “precise answers” on this increase in the number of victims, the leader has instructed Mexican consulates to conduct regular checks in migrant detention centers in order to “provide clear and continuous support to detained citizens.”
2026, the deadliest year
According to El Economista, the year 2026 is shaping up to be the deadliest for Mexicans detained on the other side of the border, surpassing the eight cases recorded in 2025. As reported by El País América, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced two weeks ago its intention to bring the issue of the deaths of its nationals to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
While these new initiatives appear to show a willingness on the part of Mexican authorities to enhance the protection of their nationals in the United States, some believe that they are still insufficient.
In an editorial published by Crónica a few hours before the announcement of the death of Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, Mexican journalist Rafael Cardona denounces a lack of initiative. He questions: “Complaints, requests, statements, and petitions, but not a single reprisal, commercial or otherwise. […] How would the United States react if we killed [15] of their citizens?”
In this “ruthless crusade against immigration” undertaken by Donald Trump, El País recalls, through a recent report from the Marshall Project, that the number of adolescents and children detained by ICE exceeds 6,200, which is ten times more than at the end of former President Joe Biden’s term.
