'40 families still crying for their dead': Juárez remembers deadly migrant center fire

Corrie Boudreaux
Updated ·3 min read
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Dylan Navarro, a child who volunteers with Colectivo Angeles Mensajeros, holds the names and photos of the 40 migrants who died at the Mexican migrant detention center behind him on the anniversary of the fire where the migrants died on March 27, 2023.
Dylan Navarro, a child who volunteers with Colectivo Angeles Mensajeros, holds the names and photos of the 40 migrants who died at the Mexican migrant detention center behind him on the anniversary of the fire where the migrants died on March 27, 2023.

JUÁREZ — In front of a doorway still blackened by the smoke of one year ago, young angels, with their faces painted white and wings tied to their backs with string, held messages of hope and solidarity. It is an act that is both remembrance and protest.

Carlos Mayorga, founder of the group Colectivo por la Paz Ángeles Mensajeros (Messenger Angels Peace Collective), organized the event to mark the first anniversary of the fire in Juárez's Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) that ended the life of 40 people and permanently altered that of 27 survivors.

More: Dozens dead, injured in border fire at migrant detention center in Juárez

"We're going to be here today with the intention of making sure that this national and international tragedy is not forgotten," Mayorga said in Spanish. "We are completely convinced that there is still a lot left for Mexican and American authorities to do."

The fire at the Juárez detention center is the deadliest fire affecting migrants in Mexico's history.

Carlos Mayorga, director of Colectivo Angeles Mensajeros, places signs with the photos and names of the 40 migrants in front of the Mexican migrant detention center where the migrants on the anniversary of the tragic incident in Ciudad Juárez.
Carlos Mayorga, director of Colectivo Angeles Mensajeros, places signs with the photos and names of the 40 migrants in front of the Mexican migrant detention center where the migrants on the anniversary of the tragic incident in Ciudad Juárez.

Mayorga called on the Mexican government to allow migrants freedom of movement through the country. Many migrants choose the dangerous ride atop freight cars because they are not allowed to purchase bus tickets. He also called on Gov. Greg Abbott and the U.S. federal government to be "sensitive to the urgent needs of families in transit."

On the chain link fence that surrounds the INM facility, flags of various Latin American nations fluttered in the cold sunshine. The faces of the 40 victims in life peered from photocopied pages taped to the fence as Mayorga read each name aloud.

Patricia Aguayo watched as her daughter, Hasley Palacios Aguayo, dressed as one of the messenger angels, solemnly held photos of the men who died.

More: Why we spent a year telling human story of deadly disaster at El Paso, Juárez border

"She knows the stories of the migrants," Aguayo said of Hasley. "We were here after it happened. She wants to support them, she wants to participate in all these events for migrants."

Hasley, 8, said that she volunteered to be an angel for the migrants "so that they can live happily and be able to feed their children. I felt very sad when they died and I also feel sad for the children."

Her message to the world, she said, is that "we should all help them and support them."

Activists place signs with the names of migrants who died in a fire at a Mexican detention center in Ciudad Ju‡rez during a memorial on the anniversary of the death of 40 migrants on March 27, 2024.
Activists place signs with the names of migrants who died in a fire at a Mexican detention center in Ciudad Ju‡rez during a memorial on the anniversary of the death of 40 migrants on March 27, 2024.

Around the corner from the angels, various binational organizations staged a memorial and protest. Volunteers hung mylar blankets painted with the names of the victims from the fence. Marisa Limón Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Organization, recalled that the dozens of bodies were wrapped in mylar as they were removed from the building and laid in rows in the parking lot on the night of the fire.

More: The 'resurrection' of Diego Suy Guarchaj: 'They are in the cemetery. I am alive.'

"We continue to fight for justice, because there really hasn't been any on either side of the border," Limón Garza said. "Today is a day to remember those lives lost, and to agitate and remind our governments that there are still needs."

Mayorga accused the Mexican government, which he colorfully described as "in diapers" with regard to its efforts to address the migrant issue in a humane manner, of failing to fulfill its promises of justice.

Members of Colectivo Angeles Mensajeros hold a memorial for 40 migrants who died at this Mexican migrant detention center on the anniversary of the fire on March 27, 2024.
Members of Colectivo Angeles Mensajeros hold a memorial for 40 migrants who died at this Mexican migrant detention center on the anniversary of the fire on March 27, 2024.

"Today, 365 days after the tragedy, no one has been declared guilty," Mayorga said. "Even worse, the highest authority in the Instituto Nacional de Migración is sleeping at home while there are 40 families still crying for their dead."

More: 'They couldn't find the keys': How 40 migrants died in Juárez fire

Two Venezuelan men accused of starting the fire are still detained in Mexico. Francisco Garduño Yáñez, director of INM, was criminally charged with failure to perform his duties, but has not yet been tried and remains in his post.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Juárez detention fire victims honored on anniversary