MEXICO: At least 39 migrants were killed in a fire that broke out at an immigration detention center in a city of Mexico on the US border, the Mexican government said on Tuesday.
The fire broke out before midnight at the National Migration Institute (INM) facility in Ciudad Juarez. Soon after receiving information, firefighters and dozens of ambulances were mobilized for fire extinguishing and rescue efforts.
An AFP journalist saw forensic personnel remove several bodies from the INM’s parking lot, where several other dead bodies were laid and covered with blankets.
“The Interior Ministry’s National Migration Institute (INM) regrets the deaths — so far — of 39 foreign migrants, caused by a fire,” INM said in a statement.
A rescuer, who requested anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media, said there were about 70 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, at the center.
Numerous migrants have recently been detained in the center after local authorities rounded up street vendors, some foreigners from the area.
A Venezuelan woman named Viangly stood outside the immigration center, looking for information about her 27-year-old husband, who had been detained at the center.
“He was taken away in an ambulance,” Viangly told AFP, adding that her husband had legal documents allowing him to remain in Mexico.
“They (immigration officials) do not tell you anything. A family member can die, and they do not tell you he is dead,” Viangly said, her voice cracking.
A heavy national guard presence blanketed the site early on Tuesday.
Ciudad Juarez is one of the border towns where numerous undocumented migrants seeking refuge in the US remain stranded.
Fed up with the wait, hundreds attempted to storm an international bridge on March 13 but were blocked by United States agents.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has been hoping to stem the record tide of migrants and asylum seekers undertaking often risky journeys organized by human smugglers to get to the US.
In February, Joe Biden proposed new restrictions on asylum seekers, hoping to stifle the rush of migrants to the southern border when Covid restrictions are lifted.
The new rules came as Biden was facing accusations from Republicans of losing control of the border.
Migrants from Mexico to US
Each month, about 200,000 people try to cross the border into the United States from Mexico.
Most are from South and Central America and cite poverty and violence in their home countries when requesting asylum.
A report recently released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that, since 2014, around 7,661 migrants have died or disappeared on their way to the US, while 988 perished in road accidents or while traveling in subhuman conditions.
