A federal court revoked the permanent suspension that had been granted against provisions related to the mobile phone registry, finding that halting their enforcement would affect public order and the public interest.
The Fourteenth Collegiate Court in Administrative Matters of the First Circuit unanimously resolved to modify the challenged ruling in review appeal 27/2026 and deny the injunctive relief requested by the plaintiffs.
According to the decision, granting the suspension would have prevented the application of rules whose immediate purpose is to protect collective rights, particularly in matters of search, location, and identification of missing persons.
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The court argued that these provisions aim to prevent harms associated with enforced disappearances and to strengthen the State’s capacity to guarantee fundamental rights such as life, liberty, dignity, identity, and security.
In that regard, the judges on the panel stated that society has an interest in ensuring that the benefits derived from these rules prevail, as they help reinforce the State’s institutional and regulatory framework to effectively address disappearance cases.
Therefore, after finding one of the grievances raised by the appealing authorities to be well-founded, the court decided to revoke the challenged ruling and deny the requested permanent suspension.
The decision was approved unanimously via videoconference by Judges María Eugenia Martínez Carrillo, presiding judge of the court, and Emma Gaspar Santana, as well as Judge Rafael Coello Cetina, who authored the opinion. The latter served as a clerk at the Supreme Court for 17 years under four different chief justices.
What did the court do?
The collegiate court reviewed the decision issued at the trial level and overturned it, meaning that in this case there is no longer any suspension against the provisions related to the mobile phone registry.
This ruling adds to two other interlocutory appeals decided in the same sense by the same court, in which the requested suspensions against the same rules were also denied. In those cases, the challenges involved provisional suspensions, whereas the review appeal decided here concerns a permanent suspension.
Within the judiciary, there have been differing criteria among collegiate courts on this issue. Some have granted suspensions, while the Fourteenth Collegiate Court has denied injunctive relief in three cases, including the most recent review appeal.
In the Mexican judicial system, amparo proceedings go through several stages. First, a district court reviews the claim and may grant or deny suspensions. Subsequently, rulings may be reviewed by collegiate circuit courts, which act as appellate courts.
When collegiate courts within the same circuit issue conflicting criteria, the contradiction may be resolved by the corresponding Regional Plenary or Circuit Plenary, which establishes a standard to unify interpretation.
If conflicting criteria later arise between regional plenaries from different circuits, the matter could escalate to the full bench of the Supreme Court, which would have the final word in setting a binding nationwide standard.
Mobile phone registry in Mexico
Context: The federal government implemented a mandatory registry of mobile phone users, a mechanism aimed at linking each phone number to the identity of its holder through the Unique Population Registry Code (CURP) or other official documents. The measure is part of a reform in telecommunications and public security intended to reduce crimes such as phone extortion and fraud, which are often carried out using anonymous lines.
Under the regulatory provisions, all active lines in Mexico—both prepaid and postpaid—must be registered, including physical SIM cards and eSIMs. The registry involves linking each phone line to the user’s personal data, a process primarily handled by telecom companies under guidelines issued by the sector’s regulatory authority.
The registry began implementation in January 2026, with a period of several months for users to complete the process. Authorities have warned that lines not registered within the established timeframe could be suspended, meaning the device would only be able to make emergency calls until the required linkage is completed.
The measure affects the entire mobile market in the country, which exceeds 150 million active cellular lines, according to industry estimates. In addition to individual users, the registry also includes companies and foreign nationals using phone numbers in Mexico, who must verify their identity through official documents.
However, the proposal has also sparked debate among experts and civil society organizations. Some specialists warn that creating a database with personal information from millions of users could pose risks to privacy and data protection, and raise questions about its effectiveness in reducing crime.
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