Tensions have simmered between migrants and residents in Mexican border cities for years, with camps set up near crossings by those who can’t afford housing or who cling to hopes the U.S. will suddenly admit them. In Ciudad Juarez, constant new arrivals facing an indeterminate wait were already the subject of debate. The fire at an immigration detention center that left 39 migrants dead this week has only added to the strained situation. It's a city of 1.5 million, with as many as 25,000 migrants. Many border residents take pride in their cities as beacons of diversity and hospitality, but challenges mounted after the U.S. introduced a practice under which migrants were forced to wait in border cities for appointments to enter.
