A fire broke out in a dormitory at a Mexican immigration center along the U.S.-Mexico border, killing at least 39 people, a government agency said Tuesday. This is recorded as one of the deadliest incidents ever at an immigration facility in the country.
Just hours after the fire broke out, bodies were seen being laid out under silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, resulting in over three dozen people dead and over 29 victims critically injured.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The facility, in Chihuahua state, is close to the Santa Fe International Bridge and across the border from El Paso, Texas.
The agency said that it “strongly rejects the acts that led to this tragedy,” without elaborating on what those might have been.
In a morning press briefing, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated that the migrants started the fire themselves. The president stated that when some migrants were informed that they would be deported, they set sleeping mats on fire in protest. The victims were from Venezuela and Central America.
Conferencia de prensa matutina, desde Palacio Nacional https://t.co/ApdLQrJkIP
— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) March 28, 2023
According to the AP News, tensions have been high between authorities and migrants in recent weeks, especially because Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for migrants waiting for processing and possibly receiving U.S. asylum.
Andrea Chávez, a federal deputy for Ciudad Juárez, tweeted about the fire early Tuesday, saying “it is with deep sadness and grief” that she learned of the account.
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
“We will wait for the official information and, from this moment on, we send our condolences to the families of the migrants,” she continued.
This is a developing story.
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