By: McKenzie Morrison

Ciudad Juarez is located in the northern area of Mexico just right off of the United States border. It deals with many immigrants being sent back and forth due to many laws changing with immigrants because of the pre-pandemic public health restriction that will expire in May of this year. Many try to leave this city because they can’t afford much, some wait up to weeks and even months. And for those who are waiting, all they can do is sit on the streets and beg for change to get through the next day. Sadly, some of those people won’t get the chance to have a new life after an event that took place last week.

On Monday, March 27th a horrific event would happen in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico that would lead many immigrants speechless and some without a family member or friend. On that Monday night there is a video, 32 seconds long that shows detainees trapped in a locked cell and uniformed immigrant officers walking by without a care. In this video, a fire breaks out in the cell and the officials ignore the screams of the men as they are being engulfed in flames. Some of the men were seen kicking and yanking on the door and screaming for their life but sadly no one came to help them. This fire caused 40 deaths and the video ends with smoke covering the camera.

After the fire arrest orders were sent out on Thursday, March 30th for 8 individuals who were involved in not helping the men to get away from the fire. The people who were arrested have not yet been named but there are 2 federal agents, 1 state migration agent, and several members of the private security company. A candlelight visual was held for all the men who died during the fire and many people in the community came and left flowers and cards for those who lost their lives that night. Jose Luis Gonzales and Reuters Sara Irene Herrerías Guerra who are head of the Specialized Prosecutor for Human Rights of the Attorney General of Mexico said that the fire started when a group of migrants set a mattress on fire in the cell. Many immigrants who were inside the cell spoke out and said that the inmates did this as a protest and it just got out of hand.

Jose Lusi Gonzales says that he has been in contact and is trying to get ahold of the families of the victims who lost their lives; some of the immigrants lived in Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Venezuela. Many of the bodies are still trying to be identified at this moment to try and bring peace to those who lost a loved one. Also, the death rate is changing constantly because of the immigrants’ bodies not being identified and many of those who are inquired are getting worse and end up dying overnight.