The World Briefly

March 31, 2023

Trapped

Mexico

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Mexican authorities launched an investigation into the fire that killed at least 39 migrants inside an immigrant detention center near the US border Monday, an incident that has prompted criticism over the government’s immigration policies, the Guardian reported Thursday.

To date, Mexican officials said they had arrested five people out of six they want to interview, a list that includes three migration ministry officers and two private security agents for homicide and damage to property at the migrant center in Ciudad Juárez, according to Reuters.

Authorities also plan to arrest a migrant suspected of starting the fire as part of a protest.

The probe followed the release of a surveillance video that showed guards running away and leaving migrants behind bars as flames and smoke engulfed the facility. Among the victims were individuals from a number of Latin American nations, including Venezuela, Colombia, and Guatemala.

The footage sparked condemnation from human rights groups and countries in the region, including El Salvador which said some of its citizens were seriously injured.

The incident, believed to be the deadliest in a Mexican immigration facility in recent memory, has raised concerns about Mexico’s ability to handle the large number of migrants in cities along its northern border, the Los Angeles Times added.

These concerns come as US authorities prepare to implement new policies that are likely to keep migrants heading to the US in Mexico.

Although Mexican officials have tried to attribute the tragedy to the improper actions of low-level guards, human rights advocates counter that an interconnected network of anti-migrant policies on both sides of the border is also to blame.

Every month, around 200,000 people attempt to cross the border from Mexico into the US, the majority of them fleeing poverty and violence in Central and South America.

Since 2014, more than 7,600 migrants have died or disappeared in transit in the Americas, according to the International Organization for Migration. The United Nations agency estimates that around 4,400 individuals died or went missing on the US-Mexico border crossing route.

This story originally appeared in the March 31, 2023 newsletter, Joyful Warriors.