Fire at US-Mexico Border Fuels Tensions Over Border Migration Crisis

Migrants stand near the border fence after requesting asylum in El Paso, Texas. Source: REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

A massive fire erupted last week on the US-Mexico border that took the lives of 38 individuals and injured dozens of others.

The migrant detention center in Ciudad Juarez, where the fire was sparked, harbors deported migrants and people with irregular travel documents suspected to be attempting to enter the US illegally. The detention center has grown rapidly in recent times due to the pandemic’s effects on border policies, and continues to detain people post-pandemic.

According to the authorities, the migrant center was immersed in flames after the police picked up and detained a group of migrants a few streets away from the border. 

Reports claim that in the midst of protesting against their deportation from the US, the group of migrants pushed small mattresses against the door of the shelter and set them on fire.

However, Venezuelan migrant Anthony Gonzalez believes that the fire was started from the outside. Gonzalez was held at the migrant center last week and claimed that the migrants were being confined behind padlocked doors.

While Gonzalez’s theory raises questions, there is video surveillance exposing police negligence. 

The video shows police walking away from the fire instead of making attempts to help the migrants trapped in the center. 

In an interview with a local journalist, Mexico’s interior secretary, Adán Augusto López, stated that the video was authentic. Mexico’s Federal Attorney General also accused the country's immigration officials of consciously allowing the fire to spread.

Witness Viangly Infante Padrón gave reporters her account of what occurred. She stated, “There was smoke everywhere. The ones they let out were the women, and those (employees) with immigration,” she said. “The men, they never took them out until the firefighters arrived.”

Among the impacted were 28 citizens from Guatemala, 13 from Honduras, 13 from Venezuela, 12 from El-Salvador, one from Columbia, and one from Ecuador. 38 of the migrants are confirmed to be dead and 11 of the migrants are receiving treatment in a hospital. 

Enraged by the fire and recent asylum policies, over 1000 migrants rushed towards the border to demonstrate their frustration.

Migrants detained by US Border Patrol agents after requesting asylum in El Paso, Texas. Source: REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

The US-Mexico border has a long and complicated history. In the 1990s and 1980s, congress was hesitant to allow legal migration from Mexico, which resulted in thousands of Mexicans crossing the border illegally to look for higher paying jobs. After two decades, illegal immigration to the US from Mexico became strenuous. 

Migration from Mexico increased during Obama’s presidency and even more so during Trump’s presidency. 

With growing pressure from Washington, Mexico made an effort to decrease the number of immigrants to the US border. Due to this protocol, the facilities owned by the National Immigrant Institute face overcrowding. 

Due to poor conditions of the migrant centers, many potential migrants are forced to sleep on the streets or inside churches. 

In February of 2023, Biden established new rules that could help prevent illegal migration. Individuals seeking asylum must schedule an appointment at a US border port of entry through a Customs and Border Patrol app, or use humanitarian programs available to certain nationalities. Additionally, they must have attempted to seek asylum in other countries before they can seek asylum in the US as a last resort. 

The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees asked Biden to reconsider his plan, stating that it was against international law, since it will compel migrants to return to dangerous situations. 

The US Customs and Border Protection recently announced expanding its surveillance towers near El Paso’s port of entry to monitor and deter migration, and smuggling across the US-Mexico border. At the same time, the growing numbers of deportations, slow appointment times, and recent fire suggests that the migration crisis in Ciudad Juarez might be reaching its boiling point if the US does not reform its immigration policies.