Francisco Garduño, who once led Mexico’s National Immigration Institute (INM), was a no-show at a hearing scheduled to determine how victims of a fire at a migrant detention station should be compensated, according to a report from the Mexican newspaper La Jornada.
Garduño headed the INM, the federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement and running the country’s network of migrant holding centers, at the time the fire occurred. The blaze left multiple victims and grieving families who have since sought accountability and financial reparations from the government.
The hearing, held as part of ongoing legal proceedings tied to the tragedy, was intended to move the reparations process forward for survivors and relatives of those affected. Garduño’s absence leaves that process in limbo for now, and it raises fresh questions about whether officials linked to the case will be compelled to answer for the agency’s handling of the incident.
La Jornada’s report does not specify whether a new hearing date has been set or what consequences, if any, Garduño may face for missing the proceeding. The case remains part of a broader reckoning over conditions inside Mexico’s migrant detention system.
To read the full report and follow developments in this case, check out the original story at La Jornada.
Source: Francisco Garduño, ex comisionado del INM, falta a audiencia sobre reparación a víctimas de incendio en estación migratoria (jornada.com.mx). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Scene Camera Operator: SSG Thomas A. Lee, USA.