A tragic fire occurred on Monday night in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, along the U.S. border, where doezens of migrants lost their lives in a fire that broke out at an immigration detention facility.
Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM) reported that 39 foreign migrants were killed while 29 more were critically injured and taken to local hospitals. Initial reports indicated the blaze was started by detainees who were protesting their impending deportation. But as of now the cause of fire has not been determined.
Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed shock that the protests ended disastrously.
The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) was appointed to intervene in proceedings and to ensure the rights of migrants were protected. The Mexico’s attorney general’s office is investigating the fire’s cause.
The fire in Ciudad Juárez coincides with hearings set for Tuesday on Capitol Hill with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd set to speak on illegal immigration across the U.S.-Canada border.