Fatal Fire, Damning Video Put Harsh Focus on Mexico’s Migrant Centers

MEXICO CITY — For years, human rights groups have complained about the dire conditions in Mexico’s migrant-detention facilities; the lack of drinking water, the stopped-up toilets, the shortage of medical care, the cells crowded far beyond their official capacity.

Now a leaked video has put the facilities at the center of an international scandal — raising questions not only about Mexico’s immigration policies but Washington’s, too.

Yet as Mexicans demand answers from their government, the scandal has also put a spotlight on decisions by the Trump and Biden administrations to increasingly pressure Mexico to stop the growing number of U.S.-bound migrants.

“This is a huge tragedy and a reminder of the failure of both U.S. and Mexican migration policy,” said Savitri Arvey, a senior policy adviser at the Women’s Refugee Commission in Washington.

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