The station in Ciudad Juárez where 39 migrants died in a fire and another 28 were injured will be closed definitively, personnel from the Attorney General’s Office reported this Friday.
“Announce that the determination has been made to suspend as of now and definitively the operation of the station in (Ciudad) Juárez, Chihuahua,” said Sara Irene Herrerías, the prosecutor specializing in human rights, at a press conference this Friday.
The migrants who are currently detained in the immigration center will be transferred after its closure to the Leonora Vicario Integration Center for migrants, in the same city. In the compound, their permanence will be voluntary, contrary to what happens in detention centers.
The Leonora Vicario center is attached to the Ministry of Labor, and not to the National Institute of Migration (INM). “It is not a temporary station, but it is a place where they can offer food and medical services. It is an integration center for migrants,” explained the Secretary of Citizen Security, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, who considers what happened at the station a homicide.
The closure of the burned center could take place in about 15 days, since the company in charge of surveillance at the site must review the lawsuit before determining whether to appeal the decision or not.
The Camsa SA de CV Private Security Group, in charge of the security of migrants at the time of the fire on Monday night, would have committed at least nine irregularities in handling the incident.
The lack of permits for the guards to carry weapons, alleged ill-treatment, lack of training and “cruel and inhuman acts” are some of the deficiencies attributed to the company.
Rodríguez indicated that they are investigating whether Camsa would be operating more centers under another name.
The contract between the Government and the company began at a minimum of 76 million pesos (more than $4 million dollars) and a maximum of 190 million (more than $10 million).
The information revealed to the press also indicates that the contract was awarded directly to the company without a competition process between companies.
The document was signed on March 1 and ran until December 31, 2023.
Herrerías confirmed that there are five people detained in connection with the tragedy; three federal officials from the National Migration Institute (INM), two private security guards and one migrant. They face charges of manslaughter and causing injury to others.
A sixth arrest warrant is in force against another Camsa employee that the Police have not yet captured.
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