Protests and vigil after fire at immigration center in Mexico

Hundreds of migrants demonstrated and demanded justice on Tuesday night outside the National Institute of Migration (INM) in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. where on Monday night 38 migrants died in a fire at an immigration station.

The foreigners protested peacefully and held a prayer vigil for the migrants who had lost their lives 24 hours earlier. The event was attended by the Catholic priest Javier Calvillo, head of the Casa del Migrante shelter in Ciudad Juárez, who described the fatal fire as a tragedy. “This is a tragedy, the loss of one or 50 lives is a crisis. We already saw this coming, we saw everything that has happened with them, the comments of public servants such as the mayor, who said that he was losing patience due to the presence of Venezuelans“, he exposed.

He pointed out that a few years ago Ciudad Juárez, as a city, was told that it was the murderer of women due to the femicide crisis and now “it is the murderer of migrants and it is unfortunate that this happens and because of this we make ourselves known internationally.”

(In context: Mexico: fire at immigration station leaves 39 dead on the US border).

The Venezuelan migrant Antonio Torres said that the message given by these events is that the Mexican immigration authorities mistreat undocumented foreigners. “We do not want these events to continue, the immigration agents mistreat us in Mexico, we come here and they do not protect us either,” he accused.

He added that he was seven days ago at the National Institute of Migration (INM) “there is a lot of corruption, since they charge them 20 dollars if they let in a pack of cigarettes or other items. They even last days to be able to talk to their loved ones. We are migrants, not criminals.”

Another of the undocumented immigrants who attended the protest was the Venezuelan Marlin Villalobos, who told that the migrants who died, like many others, arrived in Mexico “seeking a better future for their family and look how they ended up.” He explained that in the face of tragedies of this type “We do not feel protected by the authorities, where we are they run us. We ask the authorities to put their hands on their hearts, we deserve respect and dignity.”

During the demonstration, candles were lit and, together with the priest Calvillo, the migrants said prayers for those who lost their lives, a floral offering was placed and around them were banners with messages such as “No more inhumane policies”, “The problem is that there are more xenophobic than migrants” and “Migrants should not be criminalized”.

(You can read: Why does Amlo hold migrants responsible for the fire that left 39 dead?).

Responsible before the Prosecutor’s Office

This Tuesday, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard reported that those directly responsible for the events have already been brought before the Attorney General’s Office (FGR). Although Ebrard referred to this information, he did not specify the number or identity of those presented before the FGR.

Previously, the Mexican government had raised the number of migrants killed by the fire in the immigration center to 40, but at night it corrected the death toll and placed it at 38. The FGR indicated in a statement that the identified migrants were 1 Colombian, 1 Ecuadorian, 12 Salvadorans, 28 Guatemalans, 13 Hondurans and 13 Venezuelans, although without specifying the deaths and injuries.

According to Mexican civil organizations, 2022 was the most tragic year for migrants in Mexico, as some 900 died trying to cross without documents from the country to the United States. The region is experiencing a record migratory flow, with 2.76 million undocumented immigrants detained at the United States border with Mexico in fiscal year 2022.

The Pope asks for the dead migrants

Pope Francis asked to pray for the migrants who died “in the tragic fire” of a station of the National Institute of Migration (INM) in Ciudad Juárez, in Mexico, during the general audience held in the Plaza de San Pedro.

(Also: A Colombian, among the victims of the fire in a migrant center in Mexico).

During the greetings to the Spanish-speaking pilgrims, Francis said: “Let us pray for the migrants who died yesterday in a tragic fire in Ciudad Juárez, in Mexico. So that the Lord receives them in his kingdom and gives comfort to the families. Let us pray for they”.

Before the incident, INM agents had carried out an operation to remove migrants begging from the streets. The presence of migrants in the area has intensified this year since the United States announced new measures, including the immediate deportation of migrants from Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba who arrive by land under “Title 42.”

The Mexican government has also faced criticism from human rights organizations for accepting US policies. and deploy more than 20,000 agents of the Armed Forces at the borders for migratory tasks.

EFE

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