The fire started Monday evening when 68 men, all of whom were of age and from Central and South America, were housed in a detention center in Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez (northern), on the border with the United States.

At least 39 migrants died and 29 were injured in the blaze, the Mexican government reported early Tuesday morning.

The 29 injured have been taken to four hospitals, where their condition is serious, the agency added.

“The Ministry of the Interior’s National Institute of Migration (INM) regrets the death – so far – of 39 foreign migrants caused by a fire,” a statement said.

“Communication and coordination has been established with consular authorities from different countries to implement actions that will allow the full identification of deceased migrants,” the INM added.

From Central and South America

The fire started in the area where undocumented foreigners are housed. “The INM strongly rejects the actions that led to this tragedy,” he added.

An AFP journalist verified the moment when lifeguards removed the bodies to place them in the immigration center car park before they were removed by forensic personnel.

The accident in this center, located near the border, caused the mobilization of firefighters and dozens of ambulances. The place remained guarded by the military and national guards in the early hours of the morning.

Numerous migrants have been transferred to this migration hub in recent days after local authorities removed street vendors, many of them foreigners.

“They Tell You Nothing”

Viangly, a Venezuelan, screamed in despair from outside the immigration center, where her 27-year-old husband was taken after being detained despite having the documents to remain in Mexico, she said.

The young woman knew that her husband was one of the victims of the fire, but did not know his state of health: “They took him away in an ambulance. They (immigration officers) don’t tell you anything, a family member can die and they don’t tell you ‘he’s dead’”.

Ciudad Juárez, a neighbor of El Paso, Texas, is one of the border towns where countless migrants trying to cross into the United States for refuge remain stranded.

Hundreds of them, most of them Venezuelans, tired of waiting and tried to cross an international bridge on March 13, but US agents prevented them from passing.

A recent report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) indicates that approximately 7,661 migrants have died or disappeared en route to the United States since 2014. 988 died from traveling in inhumane conditions.

United States President Joe Biden tightened immigration policies, forcing migrants from Ukraine, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti to apply for asylum in the countries they travel through or to request an appointment online.