39 Dead After Fire At Migrant Center Just Across U.S. Southern Border

On April 1st, 2023, a fire broke out at a migrant detention center run by the National Migration Institute (INM) in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. This facility is located just across the U.S. southern border from El Paso, Texas. According to officials, 39 people died and 29 were hospitalized. Sources suggest that the victims were migrants from Central and South America, many of whom have been taken in from the streets of Venezuela.

The INM has stated that those hospitalized are in “delicate-serious” condition and it has indicated that the fire was not accidental. The cause of the fire remains unknown and is currently being investigated by Mexico’s attorney general’s office. The National Human Rights Commission of Mexico is providing assistance to survivors of the tragic incident.

Many migrants seeking entry into the U.S. enter through Ciudad Juarez, which is located in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is believed that a “mass number” of migrants had been drawn to the border due to their expectation that Title 42, a Trump-era health order allowing Border Patrol agents to turn migrants away on the basis of public health, would end soon.

The Biden administration has been facing a severe immigration crisis since taking office, with illegal immigration reaching an all-time high. It is feared that the situation could worsen further after Title 42 expires on May 11th, 2023. As a potential measure to tighten border security, officials have proposed bringing back family detainment—a practice that was previously considered inhumane and harmful for illegal immigrant children. Options that have been tabled include limiting the time a family can be detained to two weeks or setting no limits at all on the duration of the detention.

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