Mexico Files New Complaint Over Migrant Death in ICE Custody

Mexico City — The Mexican government will file a new complaint with U.S. authorities over the death of another Mexican migrant in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday.

Speaking at her daily morning press conference, Sheinbaum said the man — identified by a Texas congressman as Emiliano Andrade Covarrubias, 56 — was detained in June and died at a processing center in Laredo, Texas. “This compatriot was detained in June, and what the family told us is that he suffered from diabetes and hypertension and probably did not have all his medications,” she said.

His death brings to 18 the number of Mexican nationals who have died in ICE custody during Donald Trump’s second term.

Mexico seeks a ‘prompt, thorough and transparent’ investigation

The Mexican Foreign Ministry said Sunday it had asked U.S. authorities for “a prompt, thorough and transparent investigation.” It said Sheinbaum’s administration has pursued diplomatic and legal actions, including diplomatic notes to the State Department, complaints filed with the relevant authorities and efforts to help migrants’ families secure a lawyer.

Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said in August that Mexico had filed 20 complaints with U.S. authorities and had received responses to only four of them.

One state prosecutor who did respond, in Florida, backed ICE’s conduct after the death of Royer Pérez, 19, the youngest Mexican victim. Pérez was detained in January in Volusia County, in northern Florida, and charged with identity theft and resisting authority during the arrest. He was transferred to a state detention center, where he died despite efforts to revive him.

ICE’s official account initially pointed to suicide, but a preliminary report from the medical examiner’s office indicated otherwise: a homicide at the hands of guards. Four other state prosecutors — in Illinois, California, Texas and Florida — and four district attorneys — in Oxnard, San Bernardino, Chicago and Atlanta — also responded, but only to acknowledge receipt of Mexico’s complaints.

Found unconscious during a routine check

Rep. Henry Cuéllar, a Texas Democrat, told The Texas Tribune that the dead man was Emiliano Andrade Covarrubias, 56, and that his death was confirmed at 10 a.m. Saturday during a routine check. Guards at the Rio Grande processing center found him unconscious.

ICE has not released official information about Andrade’s death and did not respond to a request for comment.

His daughter, Estefani Andrade, 29, a U.S. citizen, told the Tribune she learned of the death from the Webb County coroner’s office, where an autopsy is being performed to determine the cause. She said the family would visit the detention center Monday to collect her father’s belongings.

Jazmín Castillo, a spokesperson for the Mexican consulate in Laredo, said the consulate is waiting for the coroner’s findings before offering further details. “We are in contact with the family of the person who died, and also with the authorities. For now, we are waiting for the coroner to issue a ruling,” she said.

Andrade is the second migrant to die this year at an ICE facility in Laredo. Félix Alcorta Rodríguez, 63, died in June at the Webb County detention center after he too was found unconscious, according to ICE. The agency said he received emergency medical attention and was later taken to a clinic, where he died. ICE did not provide further details about the cause of death.

Sheinbaum reiterated that her government, through its consulates, will provide legal support to Mexicans in the United States. “We are against any form of racism, and even more so when it comes to our compatriots in the United States,” she said.