The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns released the following statement on March 28, 2023, about a fire at a migration facility in Juarez, Mexico, that killed at least 39 migrants and injured dozens more.
March 28, 2023
The death of at least 39 migrants in a fire at a Mexican migration center near the U.S. border last night is horrific and another example of the tragic impact the broken U.S. asylum and immigration system has on people and families around the world. To the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, and to the dozens more wounded, we pray for God’s loving presence to comfort and sustain them through their grief and pain. The fact that these migrants – many of them reportedly from Venezuela – were forced to wait in Mexico while on their migration journey to the U.S. border is the United States’ shame. Many migrants have been saying in recent weeks that they cannot access asylum appointments using the new CBP One app. How many more must die as they wait? We call on Congress to support compassionate and just immigration reform, that places the sanctity and dignity of human life at the center.
Image: U.S. Border Patrol check documents of migrants near in Yuma, AZ on June 4, 2019.