FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 30, 2023 

Contact: policy@bridgesfi.org 

Bridges Faith Initiative demands accountability from Mexican and U.S. governments on the immigrant deaths in custody in Ciudad Juarez 

 We grieve the deaths of the more than 38 immigrants who died on March 28th, in the fire at a Ciduad Juarez detention center. May their memories be a blessing. The BFI community extends  comfort to their friends and families. We pray for healing of all those affected by this tragedy. 

We are appalled and distraught at such a needless loss of life. Many who died were from the  Mayan Indigenous community living in Guatemala. Mayans and other indigenous people face an  abundance of discrimination and bias in Guatemala. They are forced to flee for their lives to  safety.  

Policies of the U.S. government such as the ‘CBP One app’ appointment as the sole means of  accessing Ports of Entry and the Biden administration’s proposed asylum ban keep asylum seekers  in unsafe circumstances like Ciudad Juarez. In addition, border towns like Ciudad Juarez where  these logjams occur enable the Mexican National Guard to detain immigrants for no reason. This  puts asylum seekers, especially indigenous asylum seekers in even more vulnerable, dangerous  situations.  

“We must acknowledge that our country adheres to the International Declaration of Human  Rights, which insists that asylum is a human right. Denying asylum or increasing barriers to asylum  is clearly a matter of life and death. We must place dignity at the center of our immigration and  asylum policies,” said Rabbi Joshua Lesser

We call upon the U.S. government to support the injured 39 men and their families by bringing  them to the United States and end the practice of the CBP one app appointments and the  proposed asylum ban. We call upon the Mexican government to conduct an independent inquiry  into the detention of immigrants and the fire, as well as to allow access to the families of the  immigrants to the detention center and other medical facilities where both the dead and the  injured are held.  

Together, let us urge our government to enact humane asylum policies. May this be a time to  seek healing and repair as we mourn these tragic and preventable deaths.