On Monday, a blaze erupted in a dorm room of an immigrant holding center close to the U.S. border, leaving 39 migrants dead.
The horrific incident happened shortly before 10 p.m., according to the National Migration Institute. Sixty-eight men from Central and South America were staying at the facility, which hosts migrants who are waiting on requests for asylum in the U.S. or preparing to cross the border. 29 were also left injured following the deadly fire at the processing facility in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
As of right now, the cause of this fire is still unclear. In a statement confirming the news, the National Migration Institute said it condemns the events but didn’t offer any speculation as to their cause…
#Comunicado 🗞️| @INAMI_mx lamenta el fallecimiento de 39 personas migrantes extranjeras, derivado de un incendio que se originó poco antes de las 22:00 hrs del lunes en el área de alojamiento de la Estancia Provisional de Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua. https://t.co/NCe0yExH9T pic.twitter.com/vhT9cgXzsq
— INM (@INAMI_mx) March 28, 2023
Andrea Chávez, a federal deputy for Ciudad Juárez, also tweeted about the fire early Tuesday, saying “it is with deep sadness and grief” that she learned of the tragedy. “We will wait for the official information and, from this moment on, we send our condolences to the families of the migrants,” she continued. Chávez added that Mexico’s attorney general has initiated an investigation into the fire.
Con profunda tristeza y aflicción, nos enteramos del incendio ocurrido al interior del INM de Ciudad Juárez.
Esperaremos la información oficial y, desde este momento, hacemos llegar nuestras condolencias a las familias de las personas migrantes.
FGR inició la investigación.
— Andrea Chávez (@AndreaChavezTre) March 28, 2023
Unsettling photos from the scene show body bags lined up near the fire occurred, which had been extinguished, Reuters reported a witness as saying.
Monday’s blaze is one of the worst in recent years in Mexico, which has seen record levels of crossings at its border with the US.
HEARTBREAKING UPDATE: Per the Associated Press, Mexico’s president says the fire at a Mexican immigration facility at the U.S. border that killed 39 migrants was actually started by migrants who set mattresses ablaze in protest after learning they would be deported.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called the incident unfortunate and said the director of country’s immigration agency was currently on the scene.
“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said via Associated Press.
We will continue to keep you updated as this story develops.