TO THE FEDERAL, STATE AND MUNICIPALITIES OF JUÁREZ CITY, CHIHUAHUA
TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO
TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MIGRATION
TO THE STATE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
TO THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
TO ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD FAITH
The Franciscan Network for Migrants, Hope Border Institute and the Quixote Center repudiate and express our indignation regarding the incidents related to the fire that occurred on March 27th of this year in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Immigration authorities illegally deprived 68 migrants of Colombian, Ecuadorian, Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran and Venezuelan nationality of their freedom without review of their immigration status[1], and now 29 people have been reported as injured and 39 migrants have lost their lives.
The facts around the fire and subsequent deaths represent a sample of the ongoing actions carried out by the municipal and state authorities in Ciudad Juárez against the migrant population[2], including “hunts” and fomenting discrimination and xenophobia in the Mexican population, thus violating human rights that should be enjoyed by all people who enter Mexican territory regardless of their immigration status. These rights have been established by the Constitution of Mexico and various international human rights accords.
The lack of interest on the part of the authorities to create public policies that promote safeguarding the life, dignity and integrity of people in a context of irregular mobility has resulted in the loss of life of hundreds of migrants throughout the Americas. Nearly a month ago, the Franciscan Network for Migrants–Panama witnessed a traffic accident where approximately 39 migrants died in “Planes de Gualaca” Panama. Now we have a similar situation in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
These lives that have been lost lead us to reflect and say enough to the pain and suffering experienced by people with irregular and documented status equally, who are forced to leave their countries of origin, homes and families to become migrants overnight. They are victimized not only by organized crime, but also by the authorities, all for seeking better living conditions for themselves and their families.
We join as a Network with other international organizations to demand that the Mexican authorities at all three levels, mainly the National Institute of Migration, the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic and the Government of the State of Chihuahua guarantee:
- Immediate and expeditious psychological, medical and legal assistance to the victims, the latter in order to be informed of the procedures for migratory regularization to which they may have access, as well as the fair compensation for the violation of their human rights;
- Immediate return of the remains of the deceased to their countries of origin, as well as comprehensive reparation for the damage caused to their relatives and fair compensation due to the violation of human rights committed by the immigration, municipal and state authorities;
- Holistic grief accompaniment facilitated to the relatives of these deceased persons, throughout the process of welcoming them to the country to the transfer of their loved ones;
- That the integrity of migrants is safeguarded without resorting to the use of force, taking into account the principles of absolute necessity and proportionality;
- Unrestricted respect for the human rights of each and every migrant, regardless of their immigration status;
- An exhaustive investigation of the facts, assuming the due responsibilities of the decisions made by the personnel of the National Institute of Migration.
Finally, as the Franciscan Network for Migrants we join in the grief of the relatives of the people who died in this tragic event and we endorse our commitment to continue accompanying, welcoming and respecting migrants passing through all of Latin America.
Advocacy Committee
Franciscan Network for Migrants
Quixote Center
Hope Border Institute