Garduño Offers Public Apology for 2023 Ciudad Juárez Fire That Killed 40 Migrants

ByMexico Solidarity

This article by Jared Laureles originally appeared in the September 26, 2025 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. Admitting that it was an “unacceptable” act and that there is no way to mitigate the pain and repair the damage, the former commissioner of the National Migration Institute (INM), Francisco Garduño, offered a public apology to the families of the 40 people who died in the fire at the immigration station in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, in March 2023.

Speaking to the victims’ families and survivors, Garduño acknowledged that this tragedy was “unacceptable” and that “the victims’ human rights were violated.”

“I humbly offer my profound apologies to all of you for the suffering and harm caused to you and your families, whose lives have changed forever,” he said after reading the names of the migrants who died and those who survived.

In the act, conducted at the request of a judge, the former head of the INM admitted that the fire at the immigration station had “permanent consequences” in the lives of the victims, specifically impacting their physical, mental, cognitive, and emotional health.

Former INM commissioner Francisco Garduño Yáñez during his public apology. Photo: María Luisa Severiano

“I apologize and acknowledge that these events are unacceptable, and I condemn what happened since it caused changes to their life plans. There are no words that can make amends and restore the conditions they had before March 27, 2023,” he said, standing at a platform on whose floor were placed candlelit photographs of the 40 foreigners who lost their lives.

According to Garduño, the public apology he offered this Friday “is not just a formality derived from a judicial institution, but rather, for me, this represents a respectful, sincere, heartfelt, and transparent act of action.”

At the event held at the Mexico City Museum, approximately seven family members and immediate victims expressed their feelings and agreed that this action does not heal their pain.

Claudia Aracely Varela, Jesús’s sister, from El Salvador, complained that her children ask about their father, but her grandchildren won’t be able to meet him “We cannot accept this apology until there is a thorough investigation,” he stressed.

For his part, Estefan Arango, one of the survivors originally from Venezuela, said he forgave Garduño. However, he noted that the former commissioner had control in his hands and security protocols were not applied. “This migration has killed many people and violated many women,” he said.

At the end of the ceremony, Garduño stood up from his chair, turned around, and looked toward the victims for a few minutes. He then left, avoiding the press with the help of the staff accompanying him.