Fire Kills at Least 39 at Migrant Facility in Northern Mexico
AllSides Summary
Mexico's president said migrants at a detention center in northern Mexico set a fire that killed at least 39 people and injured dozens more on Monday.
The Details: Mexico's National Institute of Migration (INM) said 39 foreign migrants died in a fire that started around 10 p.m. local time on Monday, at a facility in the border city of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. At least 29 more were injured and taken to local hospitals. Witnesses reportedly said most of the migrants were Venezuelan. INM has launched an investigation into the cause of the blaze. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said some migrants set fire to mattresses amid fears of deportation.
For Context: Ciudad Juárez is a major border crossing point for migrants trying to enter the U.S. Earlier this month, a large group of migrants attempted to force their way into the U.S. via the bridge connecting Juárez and El Paso, Texas. The House of Representatives has a hearing on "Biden’s Growing Border Crisis" scheduled for Tuesday, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will also testify in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday morning.
How the Media Covered It: Sources across the spectrum covered the fire Tuesday, and many highlighted images of body bags lined up outside the facility. Some right-rated sources, such as Fox News, mentioned more context regarding the ongoing border crisis. Updated 3/28 at 10:17 a.m. with details of the cause.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Blaze kills at least 39 people at migrant detention center near Mexico-US border
At least 39 people died in a fire at a migration center in Mexico’s northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, officials said Tuesday.
Authorities said the fire at the office of National Migration Institute (INM) occurred after they picked up about 71 migrants from the streets of the city.
The cause of the fire or the victims’ nationalities have not been released by Mexico’s National Migration Institute, who have launched an investigation into the blaze.
“It is with deep sadness and grief that we learned of the fire that occurred...
From the Right
Fire at Mexico migrant facility near US border leaves 39 dead, officials say
A fire at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico, near the U.S. border, has claimed the lives of at least three dozen migrants, Mexican authorities said.
Mexico's National Institute of Migration (INM) said 39 foreign migrants died in a fire that started shortly before 10 p.m. local time on Monday, at the detention center in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.
Images from the scene showed rows of bodies lying under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue could also be...
From the Center
At least 39 migrants die in fire at Mexico facility near U.S. border
At least 39 migrants from Central and South America died after a fire broke out late on Monday at a migrant facility in the Mexican northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, the government's National Migration Institute (INM) said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the INM said there were 68 adult men from Central and South America staying at the facility in the city opposite El Paso, Texas, and that 29 of them were also injured in the blaze and taken to four hospitals in the area.
A Reuters witness saw...
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