FIRE ACCIDENT IN MEXICO-US BORDER KILLS 39 DETAINED MIGRANTS

In a ghastly accident, 39 Migrants were killed in a fire that broke out at the Mexico-US Border Detention Center. The fire broke out at the immigration detention center in Mexican city on the US border, the Mexican government said Tuesday, 28th March. It broke out shortly before midnight at the Institute of National Migration (INM) facility in Ciudad Juarez. Ciudad Juarez, which neighbours El Paso, Texas, is one of the border towns where numerous undocumented migrants seeking refuge in the United States remain stranded. Several migrants from the area had been detained in the center in recent days after local authorities rounded up street vendors, some of whom were foreigners.

A recent report by the International Organization for Migration has said that, since 2014, some 7,661 migrants have died or disappeared in route to the United States, while 988 perished in accidents or while traveling in subhuman conditions. “A heavy military and national guard presence blanketed the site early on Tuesday,” as per a report. The new rules say migrants who arrive at the border and simply cross into the United States will no longer be eligible for asylum. Instead, they must first apply for asylum in one of the countries they pass through to get to the US border or apply online via a US government app.

The new measures came as Biden was facing accusations from Republicans of having lost control of the border. About 200,000 people try to cross the border from Mexico into the United States each month. Most are from Central and South America and cite poverty and violence back home when requesting asylum.