A fire at a Mexican immigration center across the border from El Paso, Texas has left dozens of migrants dead or injured. Authorities say the fire was started on purpose.
Reports out of Ciudad Juarez say 39 people are dead and at least two dozen more were hurt after a mattress was deliberately set on fire in the holding facility, engulfing a large portion of the building.
The majority of the migrants being held in the facility are reportedly from Guatemala. Mexican President Andres Obrador says upon learning they were going to be deported, the migrants set mattresses ablaze in protest.
“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said, adding that the director of country’s immigration agency was on the scene, as reported by the Associated Press.
Those who are injured were taken to four different area hospitals, many reportedly in a delicate-serious condition, according to the National Immigration Institute.
Asylum-seekers must stay in the state where they apply in Mexico, resulting in large numbers being housed near the country’s southern border with Guatemala. Tens of thousands are also in border cities with the U.S., including Ciudad Juarez.
Tensions have been running high in Juarez and at other border points. That was evident earlier this month when hundreds of migrants, mostly Venezuelan, acting on false rumors tried to force their way across to El Paso and were blocked by U.S. authorities.
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