CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – At least 40 migrants died after a fire broke out at a migrant facility in the Mexican northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, the government’s National Migration Institute (INM) said on Tuesday.

Twenty-nine migrants were also injured in the blaze and were taken to four hospitals in the area, the institute said.

The fire broke out shortly before midnight, prompting the mobilisation of firefighters and dozens of ambulances.

An AFP journalist saw forensic personnel remove a dozen bodies from the INM’s parking lot, where several other bodies were laid and covered with blankets.

A rescuer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said there were about 70 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, at the centre.

Numerous migrants have been detained at the centre in recent days after the local authorities rounded up street vendors, some of whom were migrants, from the area.

A Venezuelan woman who gave her name as Vinagly stood outside the immigration centre, desperate for information about her 27-year-old husband who was detained there.

“He was taken away in an ambulance,” she said, adding that her husband had documents allowing him to remain in Mexico.

“They (immigration officials) don’t tell you anything. A family member can die, and they don’t tell you he’s dead,” Vinagly said, her voice cracking.

A heavy military and national guard presence blanketed the site early on Tuesday.

Tougher border restrictions

Ciudad Juarez, which neighbors El Paso, Texas, is one of the border towns where numerous undocumented migrants seeking refuge in the United States remain stranded.

Fed up with the wait, hundreds of them attempted to storm an international bridge on March 13 but were blocked by US agents.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has been hoping to stem the record tide of migrants and asylum seekers undertaking often dangerous journeys organised by human smugglers to get to the US.

Mr Biden proposed new restrictions on asylum seekers in February, hoping to stifle the rush of migrants to the southern border when Covid-related controls are lifted.

The new rules say migrants who arrive at the border and simply cross into the US will no longer be eligible for asylum.

Instead, they must first apply for asylum in one of the countries they pass through to get to the US border or apply online via a US government app.

The new measures came as Mr Biden was facing accusations from Republicans of having lost control of the border.

About 200,000 people try to cross the border from Mexico into the US each month.

Most are from Central and South America and cite poverty and violence back home when requesting asylum.

A recent report by the International Organisation for Migration said, since 2014, some 7,661 migrants have died or disappeared en route to the US, while 988 perished in accidents or while traveling in subhuman conditions. AFP, REUTERS