HOW POLICIES IN THE U.S. AND MEXICO LED TO THE DETENTION CENTER FIRE THAT KILLED 39 PEOPLE

Ciudad Juarez has become a popular destination for thousands of asylum seekers who hope to enter the United States through El Paso, Texas. Tensions have been rising among officials and residents and there have been reports of agents inhumanely rounding-up people into detention centers. An open letter signed by 210 migrant advocacy organizations on Tuesday reported a lack of water, ventilation and medical access. “Mexico’s migration policy kills,” they wrote. Migration policy experts in the U.S. agree that the incident was completely “preventable” and was the culmination of inadequate migration policies. “This is an example of the type of tragedies we invite… with the type of deterrent and barrier policy that our government keeps gravitating towards,” says Javier Hidalgo, Director of Pre-Removal Services at immigration nonprofit RAICES.

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