Mexico is providing legal support to 42 of its citizens arrested after recent U.S. immigration raids in Los Angeles, as tensions rise over immigration enforcement and protests involving Mexican nationals, Breitbart reported.
Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has pledged legal and diplomatic assistance to Mexican nationals arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during workplace raids in Los Angeles.
According to officials, the Mexican government, through its network of 49 consulates across the United States, is extending legal aid to the detainees, most of whom were working at the time of their arrest.
"Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said at least 42 Mexicans were being held after the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles," according to the German media outlet Deutsche Welle. "He added that the vast majority of Mexicans detained were working when they were arrested."
The foreign minister confirmed that the Mexican consular network assisted 37 men and five women detained in California. Four of them have already been deported, either due to removal orders or voluntary deportation.
Sheinbaum addressed the situation on Monday, defending the detainees while urging calm among the Mexican community in the U.S.
"We cannot intervene in the politics of the United States," she said, making a "respectful but firm call" to U.S. authorities to respect the rule of law and the human rights of detainees. She also denounced violence during protests.
"Burning patrol cars seems more an act of provocation than of resistance," she said, The New York Times reported.
The Mexican government has also published contact information for U.S.-based consulates, encouraging affected nationals to seek legal assistance. In states such as Washington, Mexican citizens are being directed to Seattle or Portland, Oregon, consulates.
An estimated 4 million Mexican nationals live in the United States illegally. Mexico's efforts to support them while discouraging violence reflect the delicate balance Sheinbaum seeks as the crisis escalates.
Concerns deepened after Republican lawmakers called for higher taxes on remittances to Mexico, a vital source of income for the country. The proposed expansion of the 3.5% tax follows a recent 12% decline in remittance flows due to the federal crackdown on illegal immigration.
"Support for the 3.5% 'remittance tax' just got a lot stronger, and I suspect the rate could end up increasing tenfold," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, replied, "New reason to amend the Senate bill to tax remittances at a lot higher rate."
Speaking to Mexican media on Sunday, Sheinbaum emphasized the need for a peaceful solution.
"Raids and violence are not the way to address the migration phenomenon," she said.
"Mexican men and women living [illegally] in the United States are good, honest men and women who came to the United States to seek a better life for themselves and their families; they are not criminals."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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