On Monday night, a terrible fire occurred in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, situated on the U.S. border, leaving dozens dead in an incident at an immigration detention site.
According to the National Institute of Migration (INM), 39 foreign migrants perished and 29 were severely wounded, needing medical attention. Though preliminary reports indicated the fire was caused by detainees protesting their expulsion, the cause has yet to be identified.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico was shocked by the outcome of the demonstration. The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) was summoned to guarantee the safety of the migrants and the Mexico’s attorney general’s office launched an investigation into the fire’s source.
This fire comes at the same time as hearings in Capitol Hill with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd set to discuss illegal immigration across the U.S.-Canada boundary.