Death toll rises to 40 migrants killed in Mexico migrant center fire

Migrants now number 40 dead, 28 injured by a fire at a National Migration Institute (INM) center in Ciudad Juarez, on the border with the United States, according to the Mexican government.

In addition, assistance is provided 15 foreign women of legal age who were evicted from the Provisional Stay when the fire broke out in the housing area of the migrant headquarters, Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) explained in a statement.

The INM points out that it is collaborating with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) with “testimonies and evidence to clarify the truth of what happened” on Monday night in Ciudad Juarez.

The FGR indicated in a statement that. the migrants identified are of the following nationalities: 1 Colombian, 1 Ecuadorian, 12 Salvadorans, 28 Guatemalans, 13 Hondurans and 12 Venezuelans”, although without specifying the dead and injured.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador detailed in his morning press conference that the incident occurred at 21:30 hours (04:30 GMT) in Ciudad Juarez, on the border with the U.S. city of El Paso, Texas, where first there was an initial toll of 37 dead, most of them from Central America and Venezuela.

A protest originated the fire

The president has reported that the incident took place due to a protest and that the director of the INM (Francisco Garduño) and the FGR (Attorney General’s Office) are already investigating to determine responsibilities. “This had to do with a protest that they started, we assume, because of the fact that they found out that they were going to be deported.mobilized, and as a protest, they put mattresses at the door of the shelter and set them on fire”.

Prior to the incident, INM agents had carried out an operation to remove migrants from the streets begging for alms.

The presence of migrants in the area has intensified this year since the U.S. announced new measures, including the immediate deportation of those from Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. arriving by land under Title 42.

The Mexican government has also faced criticism from human rights organizations for accepting U.S. policies and deploying more than 20,000 elements of the Armed Forces to the borders for immigration duties.

According to Mexican civil organizations, 2022 was the most tragic year for migrants in Mexico.some 900 died in the attempt to cross without documents from the country to the United States.

The region is experiencing a record migration flow, with 2.76 million undocumented migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022.