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☆ Mexican migration chief accused of unlawful practice after deadly fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, April 25 (Reuters) - Mexican prosecutors on Tuesday formally accused Mexico's top migration official with unlawful practice in public office, a criminal offense, over a fire at a government detention center that killed 40 migrants, according to Mexican media. Francisco Garduno, head of the National Migration Institute (INM), is the highest-ranking official to be formally accused in the case, which also led to the arrests of several other INM officials on homicide charges. Garduno, in remarks to reporters broadcast by Milenio television after the hearing, said he had invoked his right to remain silent before a judge. The hearing was held in Ciudad Juarez, the northern border city where the fire occurred. Perez said the hearing will continue Sunday, when the judge is expected to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to merit charges against Garduno.

☆ New migrant caravan heads for Mexico City to speed up legal route to US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Migrants take part in a caravan towards Mexico City called 'The Migrant's Via Crucis' in memory of the 40 migrants who died during a fire at a migrant detention center in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, as they walk along the road en route to Viva Mexico, Chiapas state, Mexico April 23, 2023. The migrants, mostly Venezuelans, started their march north early in Tapachula, the city bordering Guatemala whose detention centers have been overwhelmed by their vast numbers. Some said they expected to reach Mexico City in about 10 days. Fleeing violence and poverty in Central America, thousands of migrants walk together for safety to Mexico each year, crossing several states in hopes of finding a legal route into the United States. Out of money, he said his family was hoping to speed up the legal process needed for onward travel in Mexico City.

☆ Prayers, a Glitchy App and a Five-Minute Race for Migrants at Border to Win Entry to U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Michelle Hackman | Photographs Paul Ratje For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico—Each day, a few minutes before 9 a.m. at a local shelter here, several dozen migrants gather in the dining room to pray—for a phone app to work and for a rare legal ticket across the U.S. border. “I ask in your name, Lord Jesus Christ, that you bless this place, and that you give appointments to those of us who are waiting,” said a 23-year-old Mexican woman who led the prayer on a recent Monday. The gathered migrants echoed, “Amen!,” clapped, and all pulled out their cellphones.

☆ In Photos: Families of Guatemalans Killed in Migrant Center Fire Bury Their Dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Daniele Volpe | Elda Cantú | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last week, the remains of 17 Guatemalan men killed in a fire at a migration center near the U.S. border were flown back home, where three days of national mourning have declared. They were among 40 people who died in March at the migration center in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, near the border with Texas. It is not the first time the Guatemalan president has had occasion to declare such a period of mourning. So far this year, the Guatemalan authorities have helped repatriate 58 dead nationals. The prosecutor’s office is also expected to press criminal charges against the leader of the National Institute of Migration.

☆ Prosecutors probe Mexico immigration chief over fire that killed 40 migrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A view shows migrants camp outside the immigration detention center where several migrants died after a fire broke out at the center, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico April 10, 2023. The fire, which authorities say began after one or more of the migrants set alight mattresses as a protest, claimed the lives of 40 male migrants, most of them from Central America. "Today we discussed the possibility of some being accused of negligence, others of homicide," Lopez Obrador said, noting prosecutors have yet to give more details of the probe. Lopez Obrador said Tuesday the migrants were unable to escape from the facility located near the U.S. border because the person holding the key to their cell was absent. The prosecutors' statement Tuesday accused top immigration officials of failing to "watch over, protect and ensure the safety of the people and facilities in their charge."

☆ Missing key to cell sealed fate of migrants in Mexico fire, president says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezMEXICO CITY, April 11 (Reuters) - The 40 migrants who died in a fire at a detention center in Mexico last month were unable to escape because the person with the key to their locked cell was absent, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday. "The door was locked, because the person with the key wasn't there," Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference. Five people so far have been arrested, including private security personnel and agents from Mexico's National Migration Institute, and another arrest warrant is still pending. Hearses carrying the bodies of victims from Guatemala and Honduras were taken to the Ciudad Juarez airport to be repatriated on Tuesday. Reporting by Kylie Madry, Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Migrants cried for help in Mexico fire but no one came, survivor recalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Thick suffocating smoke was filling the cell where he was held with over 60 other migrants in northern Mexico, but there was no way out. "We screamed for them to open the cell door, but no one helped us," Caraballo, 26, said through tears during a phone interview from his hospital bed. He is anxious to get better so he can be fully reunited with his family and start a new life in the United States. Like millions of others, Caraballo and his family fled Venezuela's economic and political crisis, setting off for the United States last October. The young father was the first to be able to cross into the United States, via the government's CBP One scheme which allows some migrants to formally enter the United States, but returned to Mexico in February after his infant daughter fell ill.

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico—Five months after leaving Venezuela, Orlando Maldonado was detained by Mexican immigration authorities near the Rio Grande, a few hundred feet from El Paso, Texas. Six hours later, he died in a fire inside a cell at a crowded detention center along with 38 other migrants, according to authorities and his relatives. The blaze started when a small group of migrants fearing that they would be deported set alight highly inflammable cell mats to protest being detained, Mexican authorities said. Private security guards and immigration officers abandoned the facility, leaving the migrants locked up as smoke filled the detention area, a surveillance video showed.

☆ Survivor of Mexico detention fire and his family cross into U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezEl PASO, April 1 (Reuters) - After her husband survived a fire which killed dozens of migrants at a detention center in northern Mexico, Venezuelan Viangly Infante crossed into the United States on Saturday, in search of new opportunities for her three children. "The storm has passed," Infante, 31, said while holding back tears as she walked to the vehicle which would take her to a migrant center in El Paso. The family had arrived in Ciudad Juarez just before the new year, but only Caraballo managed to cross into the United States. Mexican authorities have shut down the detention center and arrested five people over the migrants' deaths, including INM staff, a private security agent, and a Venezuelan accused of starting the fire. In the days following the fire, the U.S government announced it would aid those affected, with Infante's family the first to receive help.

☆ Mexican migration officer absent as deadly fire began in cell he supervised, guard says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

She did not know if the absent migration officer had taken the keys to the men's unit with him or if they had been stored on site, she said. Mexican officials on Thursday arrested five people suspected of involvement in the fire, after obtaining arrest orders for three INM officers, two private security officers and the person accused of starting the fire. "He returned when we were already outside; I was with the women," Hinojosa said. Officials have said they will replace CAMSA's services with federal guards in Chihuahua state, where Ciudad Juarez is located, and flagged concern over whether the company's guards were properly trained. "We are the support," she said, referring to her role helping migration officers.

☆ Asylum seekers cross Rio Bravo into US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Migrants cross the Rio Bravo river with the intention of turning themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico March 29, 2023. Dozens of migrants, mostly Venezuelan, crossed the Rio Grande on Wednesday from Mexico...moreMigrants cross the Rio Bravo river with the intention of turning themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico March 29, 2023. Dozens of migrants, mostly Venezuelan, crossed the Rio Grande on Wednesday from Mexico into El Paso, Texas, following the deaths of dozens of migrants in a fire at a detention centre in the border city of Ciudad Juarez. REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezClose

☆ Deadly Fire Spurs Scrutiny of Mexican Immigration Detention Centers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Juan Montes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, México—The deaths of at least 39 migrants in a fire at a detention center in this border city across from El Paso, Texas, has increased scrutiny of the conditions at detention facilities run by Mexico’s immigration agency. Mexicans were appalled by a surveillance video showing migrants trapped in smoke-filled locked cells after some of the detainees set fire to mats in protest on Monday night. Two guards appeared to make no attempt to open cell doors to let the detained men out. The facility is used to hold migrants apprehended because of their illegal status in Mexico as they attempt to cross into the U.S.

☆ Over 1,000 migrants, angered by asylum policies, rush to U.S.-Mexico border
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Migrants said a new U.S. government app meant to streamline the process of securing asylum appointments from outside the United States has left them feeling fed up and helpless. A false rumor circulated on social media Wednesday that migrants surrendering at a specific spot at the border would be able to freely cross into U.S. territory. As they waited for a chance to cross the border, Border Patrol agents and Texas National Guard troops stood motionless in front of the massive metal gate, preventing them from getting through. Multiple migrants said they tried unsuccessfully to obtain a virtual appointment to start the asylum process in the U.S. Since the Biden administration rolled out the app in January, asylum seekers have complained of glitches, high demand, and a lack of appointments.

☆ Mexico Probes Possible Staff Negligence in Fire That Killed 38 Migrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Anthony Harrup | Santiago Pérez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MEXICO CITY—Mexican federal prosecutors will investigate possible negligence in the response to a fire at a migrant detention center in the border city of Ciudad Juárez that left at least 38 migrants dead as actions of staff at the facility came under scrutiny, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Wednesday. A surveillance video shows migrants trapped in locked cells as the fire erupted on Monday night, while two guards appear to make no attempt to release the detained men as smoke filled the detention area. The authenticity of the video was confirmed by Interior Minister Adán Augusto López.

☆ Migrants were locked behind bars during deadly Mexico fire, witnesses say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, March 29 (Reuters) - Migrants were locked in a cell as a blaze spread killing 39 people at a detention center in Mexico, witnesses and a survivor said on Wednesday, as Mexico's president vowed to bring to justice those responsible. "There'll be no attempt to hide the facts, no attempt to cover for anyone," he told a news conference in Mexico city. All the victims were male, and Mexico's government is under pressure to find out why they died after officials said the women migrants at the center were successfully evacuated. Outside a hospital in Ciudad Juarez, which sits across the border from El Paso, Texas, family members anxiously waited for news of their loved ones who had been injured in the fire. Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz in Ciudad Juarez and Daina Beth Solomon, Dave Graham and Valentine Hilaire in Mexico City; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ El Salvador condemns staff at Mexican migrant center after deadly fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 29 (Reuters) - El Salvador condemned on Tuesday the action of detention center staff in Mexico during a fire that killed at least 38 migrants, including "several" Salvadorans, and demanded a thorough investigation. Pope Francis prayed in Spanish for the migrants who died yesterday in a tragic fire in Ciudad Juarez. Let us pray for that" the Pope said during his weekly address to crowds in St Peter's Square on Wednesday. A video shared on social media appears to show three people at the center in what appear to be official uniforms failing to open a cell door as the fire began. By the end of the video the smoke is so thick the cell can no longer be seen.

☆ Fire Started in Protest at Mexican Migrant Detention Center Kills Dozens
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Santiago Pérez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

At least 39 migrants were killed and 29 seriously injured in a fire at a migrant detention facility in the border city of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, started by occupants protesting against their impending deportation, authorities said Tuesday. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said according to initial reports, the fire was started when some of the detained migrants lighted mattresses as a protest when they heard they would be deported.

☆ At least ten dead after fire at migrant facility in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, March 28 (Reuters) - At least 10 people died after a fire at a migrant facility in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez, near the U.S. border, two sources with the local government told Reuters. Volunteer rescue workers put the figure of deceased at 37, plus many more injured. Reporting by Jose Luis Gonzalez in Ciudad Juarez and Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Anthony EspositoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mexican president says more fentanyl enters the U.S. and Canada than Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a news conference it was not Mexico that was responsible for the introduction of most fentanyl into the United States. "I maintain that more fentanyl reaches the United States and Canada directly than reaches Mexico," he said. Lopez Obrador, who has bristled at suggestions the U.S. could intervene in Mexico, said Mexican officials had explained to him that only blue fentanyl pills turned up in Mexico. "Over in the United States they've got all colors and flavors," the president said. Asked whether there were fentanyl production labs in the country, Lopez Obrador said "yes" but underlined that the raw materials used to make the drug were coming from Asia.

☆ Hundreds of migrants try to force their way into US at Mexico border
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Jose Luis Gonzalez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Migrants, mostly from Venezuela, try to cross the barrier of the Mexican army, to enter the Paso del Norte international bridge, during a protest to request asylum in the United States, seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, March 12, 2023. Frustrated with problems securing appointments to seek asylum using a new U.S. government app, the migrants gathered at the frontier in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, but could not breach the crossing connecting the two countries. At one point, some migrants attempted to hurl an orange, plastic barrier at the U.S. line, Reuters images show. Neither U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) nor the Mexican government's national migration authority immediately replied to requests for comment. They say the app is beset by persistent glitches and high demand, leaving them in limbo in perilous border regions.

REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezMEXICO CITY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Dozens of migrant families are splitting up at Mexico's northern border as they struggle to secure U.S. asylum appointments on a government app beset by high demand and persistent glitches, migrants and advocates say. The 15-year-old decided to turn himself in at the border after his pregnant mother could only secure a solo appointment, Santiago said. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration made the app, called CBP One, directly available to asylum seekers in mid-January, aiming to make asylum requests at the border safer and more orderly. On a recent morning at a shelter in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, migrants awoke in the middle of the night to upload applications, including a selfie photo scan prone to slow processing. Her husband traveled to the Mexican border city of Nogales alone last week for his appointment, scheduled for March 3.

☆ Tattooed Mexican cat seeks new home after life behind bars
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezMEXICO CITY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Wanted: A new home for a one-of-a-kind feline in Mexico. Authorities say they are now looking for the right family to take the cat, which is not for sale, into their home. "The cat is very sociable, and is in great shape, with no infections," Cesar Rene Diaz, ecology director for the city of Juarez, told Reuters. A committee of city authorities will make the final decision about the adoption before presenting the cat to its new family in a ceremony on March 1. Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Texas 'Dreamer' reunites with family in the US after 6 months stranded in Mexico after a family secret upended his immigration interview. But the fight to secure his status in the US is not over yet.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Jaime Avalos was able to secure humanitarian parole after a disaster immigration interview last year. "The fight is not over," Avalos' wife told Insider. Attorney Naimeh Salem, Yarianna Martinez, Jaime Avalos, Noah, 1, and Rep. Al Green pose for a photo. Jaime Avalos, Yarianna Martinez, and their son Noah pose for a photo. But if there's one thing the family has learned in the last six months, Martinez said, it is to never give up.

☆ Biden to roll out new asylum restrictions at U.S.-Mexico border -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Ted Hesson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Migrants queue near the border fence, after crossing the Rio Bravo river, to request asylum in El Paso, Texas, U.S., as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezWASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The Biden administration could bar tens of thousands of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border from claiming asylum if they passed through another country en route to the United States without seeking protection, according to a proposed regulation rolling out on Tuesday, five sources told Reuters. The proposed restrictions, which seek to deter people from crossing the border without authorization, will be subject to a 30-day public comment period and then reviewed before final publication, two of the sources said. While Biden initially pledged to restore asylum access that was curtailed under Republican former President Donald Trump, he has increasingly embraced Trump-style restrictions. Biden's plan to ban certain asylum seekers mirrors similar efforts under Trump that were blocked by federal courts.

☆ Haitians in the U.S. feel pressure to sponsor friends, family back home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Brian Ellsworth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"Many people unfortunately are not in a position to sponsor family members or friends back home, but they are receiving calls nonstop." She said her clients have described being expected to sponsor entire extended families and in some cases face threats. "I would say it's also a program that will place undue stress on families and cause family divisions." "People will say 'I have more than one cousin I would like to sponsor, I'm only able to sponsor one of them,'" Jozef said. She is also opposed to the expulsions of Haitians and other migrants arriving at the southwest border, many who are seeking U.S. asylum.

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