Four people who were detained by federal agents during immigration raids in Los Angeles on Friday have already been deported back to Mexico.
Mexico Foreign Secretary Juan Ramón De la Fuente confirmed the news on Monday evening, adding that, after consulting with Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum, the country has decided to “exhaust legal and diplomatic avenues to defend the rights of its citizens who feel threatened in the United States through actions deployed by the consular network to provide legal assistance and advice.”
Some of that assistance will not be available to some of those detained since Friday, as four detainees were deported back to Mexico within 48 hours, De la Fuente stated. In a speech on Monday, he specified that two of them self-deported and the other two were deported due to a removal order.
In the speech, the foreign minister reiterated President Sheinbaum’s message to protesters, asking them to demonstrate peacefully and condemning the violence on the streets of L.A.
He also said that conversations with his American counterparts will continue to take place as the raids – and protests – continue.
“The instructions on this have been very clear: dialogue, as much as necessary; cooperation, with pleasure; coordination, of course; but not subordination,” De la Fuente said.
The Information and Assistance Center for Mexicans (CIAM) has been set up to help alleviate concerns surrounding the ICE raids and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling 520-623-7874.
Federal immigration officials have not disclosed exactly how many people have been detained during the raids thus far, although they did release the names and photos of six men from six countries who were detained in L.A.; all of them are said to have violent criminal records.
