Ciudad Juarez, Mexico – The air hung heavy with a mix of solemn remembrance and unwavering defiance on May 3, 2026. Three years to the day since a fire ripped through the National Migration Institute (INM) station, claiming the lives of 40 migrants, activists and civic organizations converged outside the still-shuttered building. Its walls, scarred with soot, stood as a stark monument to a tragedy that, for many, remains unaddressed by justice.
A Chronicle of Omissions: The Migrant’s Via Crucis
“Three years on, we have not forgotten that 40 lives ended one night within the walls behind us,” declared Diana Rodríguez of Derechos Humanos Integrales en Acción (DHIA), her voice echoing a collective sentiment of pain and indignation. She spoke not only of the dead but also of the 27 men irreversibly affected by the inferno and the 15 women survivors still fighting for legal recognition as victims of a systemic failure.
On Rivas Guillén Street, directly opposite the charred station, a powerful dramatization unfolded. Activists recreated a ‘Via Crucis’ – a Stations of the Cross – symbolizing the 14 moments of suffering endured by migrants in Ciudad Juarez, moments that tragically culminated in the fire. Each station was marked by a white wooden cross adorned with flowers, hung on the chain-link fence surrounding the INM facility, where, on the night of March 27, 2023, 40 individuals under state custody perished.
Diana Solís, DHIA’s advocacy coordinator, emphasized the importance of historical memory. “We bet on the right to historical memory over oblivion,” she stated, urging the community to keep alive the memory of those who died, the survivors, and their affected loved ones. “Memory is in our hands.”
The 14 Stations of Suffering: A Parallel to the Passion
The activists, religious figures, and social organization members drew poignant parallels between the traditional Stations of the Cross and the agonizing journey of migrants driven by economic hardship, climate change, persecution, and the hope of family reunification:
- First Station – Jesus is Condemned to Death: In November 2022, Mayor Cruz Pérez Cuellar ordered the eviction of migrant encampments near the Rio Bravo. This act, activists argued, “condemned the dignity of others to death for being of a nationality different from Mexican,” setting a grim precedent.
- Second Station – Jesus Carries His Cross: On January 6, 2023, the INM deployed 200 agents to deter border crossings. Migrants, already burdened, were forced to carry the weight of their status: “not being from here, being undocumented, and being persecuted.”
- Third Station – Jesus Falls for the First Time: Detentions of men and families began in the border area and at the airport. “Jesus fell with them, a prisoner of the externalization of the United States’ migration policy, implemented by the Mexican State.”
- Fourth Station – Jesus Meets His Mother: The sight of migrant mothers, holding their children’s hands while seeking a better future, evoked the image of Mary, the loving and protective mother.
- Fifth Station – Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus: Religious groups and individuals of goodwill provided support to those in encampments, offering food, clothing, and blankets.
- Sixth Station – Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus: The Jesuit Refugee Service regularly visited the INM station, even three days before the fire. Their efforts, like Veronica’s, sought to alleviate the burden of detention and the “torturous environment” within the station.
- Seventh Station – Jesus Falls for the Second Time: This station highlighted the INM’s alleged violations of its own procedures, conducting operations in the city streets, illegally accompanied by municipal authorities.
- Eighth Station – Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem: Women traveling alone were detained, facing limited access to menstrual hygiene products and confinement in cells with only bunk beds. “Jesus consoled them.”
- Ninth Station – Jesus Falls for the Third Time: The morning of March 27, 2023, saw intensified operations. Media broadcasted detentions; over 200 people were held in the INM station throughout the day, with men entering with their hands bound.
- Tenth Station – Jesus is Stripped of His Garments: Inside the station, migrants were allegedly stripped of their belongings, denied clean clothes, and subjected to water rationing as a control measure. The ultimate aim, activists contended, was to strip them of their dignity.
- Eleventh Station – Jesus is Nailed to the Cross: “Jesus was nailed with them (the migrants), in a torturous environment, with artificial light on 24 hours a day, with verbal and physical aggressions, without due process being respected; there they were, the sixty-seven men.”
- Twelfth Station – Jesus Dies on the Cross: Forty men died of asphyxiation. The mattresses were highly flammable, there was no ventilation, and the fire extinguishers were non-functional. “They could have opened [the doors] but chose not to.”
- Thirteenth Station – Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross: The bodies of the men were removed after a wall was torn down, “full of soot and pain. Their lives were interrupted by a chain of actions and omissions that should never have occurred.”
- Fourteenth Station – Jesus is Laid in the Tomb: The bodies were repatriated by air, with families awaiting them in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, and Venezuela.
An Unending Fight for Accountability
The activists’ message was clear: the fight for justice and comprehensive reparations for the victims and survivors of the INM station fire is far from over. They demand accountability for the chain of negligence and omissions that led to the deaths and suffering, and for the 15 women survivors to finally be recognized as victims. The soot-stained walls of the INM station stand as a silent witness, a constant reminder that for the families of the 40 migrants, and for the survivors, the journey for justice continues.
Source: https://www.chiapasparalelo.com/noticias/2026/05/no-olvidamos-activistas-exigen-justicia-por-los-40-migrantes-fallecidos-en-estacion-de-ciudad-juarez/
