A fire in a migrant detention center in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, has killed at least 39 migrants and seriously injured over 20 more. The fire, which started on Monday, March 27, occurred at a National Migration Institute facility, run by the Mexican government. Below are statements related to this tragedy from JFI members:
March 29, 2023 – The Ignatian Solidarity Network mourns the tragic 
loss of life at the migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez. We call on Congress and the Biden Administration to work urgently for a more humane approach to migration policy. Detention of migrants has been proven ineffective time and again, yet governments persist in employing this tactic, dehumanizing individuals and families who seek safety and economic opportunity. “If detainment were not such a massive part of the outsourced response to migration to begin with, this tragedy could have been avoided,” said Jorge Palacios Jr, migration coordinator for youth engagement at ISN. “Anger and grief continue to be my response to this tragedy. I pray for the families of those lost, and for every American, that we may work together to build a world where migrants are, in the words of Pope Francis, ‘welcomed, protected, promoted, and integrated.’”
The Missionary Society of St. Columban:
March 28, 2023 – The Missionary Society of St. Columban mourns the loss of 39 migrants who were killed in a fire at the National Migration Institute in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, TX. We are also outraged that Mexico and the United States’ unjust immigration system created the conditions for this senseless violence to occur in the first place.
“How many more people need to die before our governments realize that every life deserves respect and dignity?” said Cristina Coronado Flores, the Director of Migrant Ministries for the Columbans in Ciudad Juárez. “This incident is yet another consequence of a vicious global economic system that prioritizes war and profit and pushes people into poverty, which forces them to migrate from their homes. May God forgive us and help us to find ways of fraternity, solidarity, and justice.”
Catholic Legal Immigration Network:
March 28, 2023 – Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, California, CLINIC’s board chair: “A fire raged through a detention facility, further afflicting the lives of our migrant brothers and sisters, in circumstances already dire and dismal. Their plight should not be forgotten or discarded. The borderline does not absolve us from seeing the horror of this catastrophe. Christian solidarity should make their suffering our own. May God comfort those affected by this tragedy and inspire us to create better systems in which promoting and respecting the dignity of all people is the highest priority.”
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns:
March 28, 2023 – “The death of at least 39 migrants in a fire at a Mexican migration center near the U.S. border last night is horrific and another example of the tragic impact the broken U.S. asylum and immigration system has on people and families around the world. To the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, and to the dozens more wounded, we pray for God’s loving presence to comfort and sustain them through their grief and pain. The fact that these migrants – many of them reportedly from Venezuela – were forced to wait in Mexico while on their migration journey to the U.S. border is the United States’ shame. Many migrants have been saying in recent weeks that they cannot access asylum appointments using the new CBP One app. How many more must die as they wait? We call on Congress to support compassionate and just immigration reform, that places the sanctity and dignity of human life at the center.”
March 28, 2023 – “As we see the news about the fire at a migrant processing center in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico that has claimed dozens of victims, we want to pray for all those whose lives have been lost and the lives that are forever impacted by this disaster. This tragedy underscores the perilous conditions migrants are subjected to and the need for our elected officials to come together to fix a broken immigration system so that it does not subject those seeking protection to further danger.”
March 28, 2023 – “Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and families of the fire in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico,” said Sr. Marie Lucey, OSF Associate Director of the Franciscan Action Network. “This tragedy points to the terrible conditions in which people are living at the border and the urgent need for safe passage for people seeking protection. This senseless loss of life is the very reason we work to advocate for the right to seek asylum and call for immigration policies and practices that allow people to do so with dignity.”