Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Confronted by Migrants in Ciudad Juarez Following Deadly Fire

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador traveled on Friday to Ciudad Juarez, near the U.S.-Mexico border, where 39 migrants died in a fire at a migrant detention center.

However, Lopez Obrador only spoke with federal employees in Juarez's Ginmansio del Colegio De Bachilleres and did not meet with any of the patients nor any of the thousands of migrants who have been staying in the city for months in hopes of being granted asylum in the U.S., according to Border Report.

That created some chaos during the president's visit as migrants confronted him while he was inside a van outside the college gym on Friday afternoon.

A group of migrants tried to block Lopez Obrador's motorcade, resulting in scuffles. They were seen banging their hands on the van and demanding it to stop. They were reportedly trying to talk to the president.

The migrants said they just wanted to let him know that they were in a crisis and ask for justice for the victims of the migrant center fire and their families.

Lopez Obrador was in Juarez not for the issue of the deadly fire but to meet with federal employees promoting his administration's social welfare programs.

In a press conference before he started his trip to Juarez, the Mexican president said he would meet with the doctors treating the 27 migrants injured in the fire, but it was unclear if that happened.

Lopez Obrador said the migrant center fire was his administration's second most painful moment, next to a 2019 pipeline fire in Tlahuelilpan that killed about 137 people.

"I confess it hurt me a lot, it damaged me... It ripped my soul apart," Lopez Obrador noted.

Arrests Ordered in Relation to Migrant Center Fire in Mexico

Justice seems to be moving now, as a Mexican court issued arrest orders Thursday for six people in relation to the migrant center fire.

The federal prosecutor leading the investigation, Sara Irene Herrerias, noted that three officials from the National Immigration Institute, two private security guards contracted by the agency, and the migrant who allegedly started the fire as a form of protest were all being investigated.

The migrant has already been detained, while the other five have yet to be arrested, she said. Over two dozen migrants have been injured, with 27 of them still hospitalized, according to Federal Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez.

These people who are still in the hospital are either in serious or critical condition, though at least one migrant has already been discharged, the Associated Press reported.

Rodriguez added that Grupo de Seguridad Privada CAMSA, the private security firm that had a federal contract to provide security in several immigration facilities, would have its operating permit revoked and face a fine.

Security camera videos showed the guards walking away when the fire started inside the cell holding migrants. They did not attempt to release them, though it was unclear if they even had the keys to the cell doors.

Mexico Government to Close Burned Migrant Center, Set Up Migrant Rights Body

Rosa Icela Rodríguez confirmed that the Mexican government had decided to close down the burned migrant facility, which had received complaints about poor conditions and human rights violations even before the fire.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador noted that he would be setting up a commission to ensure the human rights of migrants are protected. It will be headed by Father Alejandro Solalinde, a Catholic priest and longtime migrant activist.

However, according to the Associated Press, it is still unclear what sort of powers this commission would have.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: 38 Killed in Fire in Mexico Migrant Detention Camp - From ABC News