SW News: In response to the fire at a migrant detention center at Ciudad Juarez this week, the Catholic Bishops of Guatemala have said that immigration centers are not shelters but detention centers where the human rights of people in forced mobility are violated.
Guatemala serves as a transit country as well as a significant source of immigrants and asylum seekers due to its location between North and South America. The majority of the 80,000 migrants and asylum seekers who were welcomed by the nation in 2019 were from nearby Central American nations.  Significant numbers of so-called extra-regional migrants from Colombia, China, India, and Ecuador have also resided in the nation. The country received 408 refugees and 631 asylum seekers in 2019, and 459 refugees and 728 asylum seekers in 2020, according to UNHCR.
The 1998 Migration Law and the 1999 Migration Law Regulation serve as the foundation for Guatemala's system for detaining migrants. They control how migrants are admitted, allowed to stay, held in detention, and sent away.
On Monday, at least 39 migrants from Guatemala and other Central American nations died and 28 others were injured when they were unable to leave the burning center where their applications for asylum in the US were being processed.
Pope Francis prayed for the victims' families after learning of the tragedy. The bishops of the Episcopal Conference's Pastoral Care of Human Mobility Department released a statement expressing their solidarity and indignity at the occurrence.
The bishops declared that Guatemala's principal responsibility is to uphold the rights of both male and female citizens to live in their country in dignified conditions and under their rights.
They said that failing to uphold this commitment, Guatemala, and particularly the on-duty staff, are jointly liable for the incidents that took place in the fire at the immigration station in Mexico.
The prelates offered their condolences to the relatives of the victim of the fire and they also vehemently denounced the neglect and inaction of the states concerned, of origin, transit, and destination.
There have been numerous complaints about the conditions at the detention centers. The circumstances inside the shelters were insufficient for children and teenagers, according to a 2019 assessment by the Guatemalan ombudsman.  The report revealed that the facilities lacked natural ventilation, a dining area, and accessibility for people with disabilities, designated areas for family groups among other things.