A recent
fire at a Mexican detention facility close to the U.S.-Mexico border has shed light on just how inhumanely our society treats migrants.
At least 40 people are dead, and now reports are saying that public servants and security guards present during the fire did nothing to save the people burning alive inside -- they wouldn't even open the locked doors to let them escape the blazes.Sign now to demand the Mexican government shut down this detention center and all others like it! The migration system needs true reform, and it should start there.The
accounts of the deadly fire are heartbreaking. One woman described visiting the facility, where her husband was being held, when the fire broke out.
"I heard kicks and screams." She begged for her husband and the other men to be released, but
migration officials did nothing for an agonizing 15 minutes. There is footage of the men behind bars, pleading to be released, with the fire growing behind them.When firefighters arrived,
they started bringing out bodies.This devastation claimed at least
40 lives, and dozens more were injured or affected. That sort of death toll demands clarity and justice.
Multiple officials and guards are in custody, facing homicide charges for the tragic deaths they could have prevented but let happen anyway.
Mexico is a huge checkpoint for migrants traveling from other parts of South America into the United States, and until now the government has allowed too many human rights violations to pass there.
In fact, following the fire, thousands of migrants marched through southern Mexico demanding the closure of all detention facilities like this one because the inhumanity has become too much to bear. Will you stand with them?The victims and their families deserve justice, and all other migrants deserve to have their lives protected.
We must push the government of Mexico to close this facility, and begin the work of completely reforming the migration system there. Sign the petition to support the safety and human rights of migrants!