For Immediate Release // Please Excuse Cross Posting
Thursday, March 30, 2023

Media Contact:
Erik Villalobos, evillalobos@ndlon.org
Gonzalo Mercado, gmercado@ndlon.org

Transnational Coalition of Migrant Workers Rights Organizations Respond to Fire in Ciudad Juárez

(New York) After the terrible fire of a Migrant Detention Center in Ciudad Juarez that killed 39 migrant people, the members of the Network of Corridors for Justice in Labor Migration issued the following statement and demands:

The Network of Corridos for Justice in Labor Migration expresses our deep indignation at the tragic way in which the migrant population continues to face the consequences of policies that violate and disrespect their most basic human rights. to such a degree that they lose their lives on the migration route, in search of better work and life opportunities.

On Monday, March 27, 2023, at 10 p.m, a fire broke out inside the provisional immigration Center of the National Institute of Migration in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The news was published through different media and later the Attorney General of the Mexican Republic released a statement, through which it reported that 68 people were victims of the brutal fire, 39 of them dead and 29 injured. Among them, twelve people were of Salvadoran nationality, 28 from Guatemala, thirteen from Honduras, twelve from Venezuela, one from Colombia and one from Ecuador. In the most recent CNI videos, unfortunately it can be seen how the personnel in charge of safeguarding the safety of migrants leave them locked up at the mercy of fire. This is an act of criminal negligence.

Migrants and their families, since they are forced to leave their country of origin, must go through a long and violent route (transit countries), while they reside in the country of destination or when they are forced to return to their country of origin. In each of these stages of the migratory route, they face inhumane conditions and a systematic violation of their rights. Mexico has a debt to guarantee the life and safety of migrants and their families who have died in Mexico during their transit, cases such as the killing of 72 migrants in San Fernando Tamaulipas (2010), Melilla (2022), among many others. Mexico has a debt to guarantee the life and safety of migrants and their families who have died in Mexico, during their transit, cases such as the massacre of the 72 migrants in San Fernando Tamaulipas (2010), Melilla (2022) among many others that have been denounced from different organizations and churches that accompany migrants, show the absence of a comprehensive approach and affirmative actions that guarantee the rights of migrants. The fire in the immigration center located in Ciudad Juárez shows the need for concrete actions in the protection and full guarantee of their rights.

The signatory organizations stand in solidarity with the families of the victims of this reprehensible act. It is not possible that lives continue to be lost in the migratory journey in Mexico and that the competent authorities and instances of the countries of origin, transit and destination, do not establish affirmative policies and actions towards the migrant population, which should be addressed at all times from a human rights, gender, intersectionality and intercultural approach.

Faced with this atrocious act designated as a massacre and documented from the videos that circulate.

We, the Network of Corridors for Justice in Labor Migration, demand:

  1. The prompt investigation of the events that occurred with complete transparency
  2. Comprehensive reparation for damages to the victims and their families by the Mexican authorities and the United States if necessary, as well as guarantees of non-repetition
  3. Guarantee the safety and integrity of migrants in transit by creating a space for monitoring and reporting.
  4. Closure of immigration stations and create spaces worthy of attention and not detention, from a comprehensive approach
  5. The creation of living and security conditions, as well as real and dignified opportunities in the countries of expulsion
  6. That destination countries provide opportunities for full integration and guarantee the safety of migrants and their families.
  7. We demand justice for the victims and their families, as well as an end to the criminal policy against migrants.
  8. That the governments of origin, transit and destination assume a leading role in the defense, guarantee and protection of the rights of migrants and their families.

VER EN ESPAÑOL 

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The Network of Corridors for Justice in Labor Migration arises from the need to make visible and transform the systematic violation of human rights & criminalization of migrant workers in their places of origin, transit or destination. The participating organizations are organizing transnationally to advocate for the justice & wellbeing of migrants workers and their families across the Americas

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These are the participating organizations: Asociación de Guatemaltecos Unidos por Nuestros Derechos (AGUND)- Guatemala, Asociación de Retornados Guatemaltecos (ARG) Guatemala, Red Nacional de Jornaleros y Jornaleros Agrícolas (REJJA)- México, Coalición de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras Migrantes Sinaloenses (CTTMTS)- México, Proyecto de derechos Económicos Sociales y Culturales A.c. (ProDESC)- México, Los Arenales Rompiendo Barreras- Chile, Proyecto Visión ML, Quebec Canadá, Comisión de Acción Social Menonita (CASM)- Honduras, Grupo de Monitoreo Independiente de El Salvador (GMIES)- El Salvador, Centro de Integración para Migrantes Trabajadoras y Trabajadores (CIMITRA)- El Salvador, Jornadas Migrantes- Vancouver Canadá, Centro de Derechos Laborales Sin Fronteras (CDLSF)- Costa Rica & the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON)