Fire in migration A detention center in northern MexicoMexican authorities said, near the US border, claimed the lives of at least 36 migrants.
Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM) said: 39 foreign immigrants He died in a fire that broke out shortly before 10 p.m. local time on Monday, at the detention center in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua.
Pictures from the scene showed rows of bodies lying under shiny silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. Ambulances, firefighters and vans were also seen from the morgue.
The National Press Institute said 68 men from Central and South America are staying at the facility. Of these, 29 other migrants were injured in the fire and were transported in critical to serious condition to four local hospitals for treatment.
Mexican authorities and firefighters remove injured migrants, mostly Venezuelans, from inside the National Institute of Migration building during a fire in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on March 27, 2023. (Reuters / Jose Luis Gonzalez)
The agency said a complaint has been submitted to the relevant authorities to start an investigation into the incident. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) held a hearing to intervene in the legal process and protect foreign immigrants.
The Iraqi National Movement said it would assist in legal investigations “in order to clarify these unfortunate facts”.
“The National Institute for Migration strongly rejects the actions that led to this tragedy,” the agency said, without specifying which “businesses” it was referring to.
Ciudad Juarez is a major transit point for immigrants entering the United States. Its shelters are full of immigrants waiting for opportunities to cross or who have applied for asylum in the United States and are waiting for the process to be completed.
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Ambulances, firefighters and vans are seen from the morgue responding to the fire at the immigration detention center in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. (Reuters / Jose Luis Gonzalez)
Local newspaper Diario de Juarez reported that the fire started in the men’s area of ​​the detention center and that all of the victims were male.
Media reports said the cause of the fire is still unknown and the Mexican Attorney General’s Office is investigating it.
This tragedy near the US border comes in the form of double border hearings It is scheduled on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alexandre Mallorcas He will testify at a controlled hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee at 10 a.m.
Viangeli, a Venezuelan immigrant, reacts outside an ambulance for her injured husband, Edward Caraballo, as Mexican authorities and firefighters remove injured immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, from inside the National Institute of Migration building during a fire in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. (Reuters / Jose Luis Gonzalez)
At the same time, the House Committee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing titled “Biden’s Growing Border Crisis: Death, Drugs, and Disruption at the Northern Border.”
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House lawmakers will hear from National Border Patrol Board Chairman Brandon Goode and others who will talk about illegal immigration across the US-Canada border, the longest international border between two countries in the world.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.