Francisco Garduño apologizes for migrant tragedy: ‘I recognize it was unacceptable’

Former Migration Commissioner Francisco Garduño Yáñez offered a public apology this Friday to the families of the 40 migrants who died while imprisoned, and to the 27 others who were permanently injured, during the fire at an immigration center in Ciudad Juárez in March 2023.

“I recognize that these events are unacceptable, and I condemn what happened, since it caused complications for their life plans,” he said to the families and victims who arrived from Venezuela, Colombia, Guatemala, and El Salvador to hear from the man who held the highest-ranking position at the National Migration Institute (INM) at the time of the tragedy.

“I humbly offer a profound apology for the suffering and harm caused to you and your families,” he said, referring to the 40 deceased migrants. “To the surviving and injured victims, I also reiterate my apologies for the permanent consequences that have been left in their lives, specifically the impact on their physical, mental, cognitive, and emotional health.”

Garduño Yáñez read a statement in which he admitted that the safety of the migrants was not guaranteed. They died of asphyxiation after being trapped inside the building located a few meters from the border with El Paso, Texas, where Mexican authorities transported migrants who arrived irregularly in Ciudad Juárez to cross into the United States. On the night of March 27, 2023, a group of migrants trapped inside the INM facilities in Ciudad Juárez set fire to some mattresses to protest the lack of water and food, and threats of deportation.

The fire grew and the smoke spread. 40 men died locked inside from smoke suffocation, another 27 suffered life-long injuries, and 15 women survived with post-traumatic stress disorder. This incident, which marks the death of more migrants under the protection of authorities in Mexico, has led to the deaths of thousands of migrants.

An investigation by La Verdad Juárez, El Paso Matters, and Lighthouse Reports exposed the irregularities, abuses, and serious omissions that contributed to the lethality of the fire set in a locked cell and showed a video in which an Immigration agent can be heard saying, “No… we’re not going to open the door for them, I already told those guys.”

The public apology came two years and six months after the tragedy and as part of the criminal proceedings against Garduño Yáñez, accused of the crime of unlawful exercise of public office, a lesser offense that allowed him to appeal the suspension of his judicial proceedings, which he will obtain if he meets certain requirements, including this action by the now former INM commissioner.