US-Mexico Border Fire Update: Charges for Immigration Chief, Revealed

More details about the horrific migrant facility fire in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico that killed 40 migrants have emerged. Meanwhile, a very important immigration official just got charged for the incident.

The head of the Mexican Immigration Institute, Francisco Garduño, may have kept his job for now, thanks to a decision by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, but the federal Attorney General's Office announced late Tuesday that the immigration official will also be charged in connection to the fire.

The Associated Press noted that this may have been because of the difficult position that Mexico is in right now, as the country faces pressure from the United States to slow northbound migration while the international community calls on them to treat migrants humanely and safely.

Garduño, a lawyer and criminologist before he took the job, started in June 2019 amid enormous pressure from the Trump administration to decrease the flow of immigrants. AMLO revealed during his daily press conference that Garduño had not offered his resignation. However, the Mexican president added that he would not protect anyone who had committed a crime.

So far, the immigration chief's charges are not yet clear, so AMLO announced that they will be making a decision on his fate at the "right time." He also defended the official, stating that "his work is good in general; he has always had good performance," and this is despite the deadly border fire that happened in Ciudad Juarez.

Garduño is noted to be close to the Mexican President, as the two have known each other since AMLO was still the mayor of Mexico City.

Guards at the Immigration Facility Did Not Have Keys to the Cells, Making the Border Fire Deadlier

Videos of the incident showed the guards fleeing the fire without unlocking the cell doors, trapping migrants inside and resulting in their deaths. However, AMLO revealed that the guards themselves did not have the keys to unlock those cell doors, which may have saved the lives of the migrants.

"The door was closed, because the person who had the keys wasn't there," said AMLO. The Honolulu Star Advertiser noted that he made these comments on the same day that the bodies of 17 Guatemalan migrants and six Hondurans killed in the fire were flown back to their respective home countries.

According to El Pais, three of the facility's guards, as well as the Venezuelan migrant who started the fire as a form of protest, have already been detained for questioning.

Migrant Facility Near the U.S.-Mexico Border That Burned Down Had Plenty of Problems

The Mexican immigration institute, the facility near the U.S.-Mexico border that burned down, had already been plagued with repeated complaints of human rights violations and unhealthy conditions. This was also why one Venezuelan migrant started the fire, as he was protesting the inhumane conditions of the facility.

The facility reportedly had plenty of issues, including inadequate ventilation, clean water, and food. There were also reports of guards being corrupt. However, Garduño took a harder line when he took over.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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