US-Mexico Border: Deadly Fire in Detention Center Prompts Investigation of Migration Chief

Mexican immigration agency chief faces criminal charges
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will not remove the head of immigration
The fire killed 40 migrants in a locked cell in March

Authorities in Mexico are investigating the chief of the country's immigration agency following a fire in a migrant detention center last month that killed at least 40 people and injured dozens more.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed that the Attorney General's Office is investigating Francisco Garduo, the National Institute of Migration (INM) commissioner in Ciudad Juárez, for the calamity.

Prosecutors Probe Mexican Migration Chief

Lopez Obrador stated during his morning press conference that he was unaware of the scope of the investigation or the specific charges against Garduo. However, Obrador stated that he would not remove Mexico's head of immigration, although the official is known for his hard line stance on northbound migration.

Obrador's decision to retain Francisco Garduo as director of the Mexican Immigration Institute appeared to be at odds with the federal Attorney General's Office's late Tuesday announcement that Garduo would be charged with the fire.

This demonstrates both the separation of powers in Mexico and the Mexican government's dilemma, as per ABC News. The United States is exerting pressure on López Obrador and his administration to stem the flow of migrants, while the international community urges them to treat migrants humanely and safely.

On the same day that López Obrador made his remarks, relatives congregated in rural Guatemala to bury some of the victims of the fatal fire. Francisco Gaspar Rojché Chiquival and his uncle Miguel Rojché Zapalu, two of the 19 Guatemalans who died of smoke inhalation or burns in the March 27 fire, were buried in the village of Chicacao.

The family sold their estate to obtain the $15,000 the smugglers required to bring Rojché Chiquival to the United States. They risk losing the land. The only item the 21-year-old left behind was his cherished motorcycle, which accompanied his coffin to the local cemetery.

After a protesting immigrant set fire to foam mattresses, the men perished, and officers retreated without opening the cells. According to the agency, the fatal March fire at the INM facility began in an accommodation area shortly after 10 p.m. Authorities reported that it began after they arrested and apprehended a group of migrants from the streets of the Texas-Mexico border city.

Per CNN, the INM said that 68 males from Central and South America were being detained at the facility, including Guatemalans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Salvadorans, Hondurans, and Venezuelans. CNN obtained surveillance footage from inside the facility that appeared to show that all detainees were behind bars, and the gate was secured at the time of the fire.

Mexico Detention Center Fire Incident

Outrage in Mexico initially centered on two officers who were seen fleeing the fire on March 27 without unlocking the migrants' cell door. However, López Obrador stated earlier on Tuesday that they did not possess the keys, USA Today reported.

A video from a security camera inside the facility shows officers strolling away when the fire broke out in the cell containing migrants in late March without attempting to free them. The Attorney General's Office stated that several other officers would also face charges for neglecting their duties; however, prosecutors did not specify the accusations or identify the officials.

On Wednesday morning, an immigration official stated that Garduo had not yet been summoned to testify. The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. One migrant allegedly set fire to foam mattresses in the detention center to protest detention conditions and what he believed were plans to relocate or deport the migrants. Mexico has returned 31 migrants' remains to their native countries.

Dozens of mourning gathered on the dusty alleyways of the Honduran village of Protección, where three local men's coffins had arrived from Mexico. Cindy Umaa received her sibling Edin's casket at her residence. The only request she had was that the perpetrators be prosecuted.

Complaints about corruption and deplorable conditions in Mexico's migrant detention facilities have never been addressed seriously. Prosecutors alleged that after a fire at another detention center in the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco in 2020 killed one person and injured fourteen, the immigration agency knew some problems needed to be addressed but did nothing.