Caravan Woman Gives Birth to First Anchor Baby in U.S.

A pregnant woman who spent weeks traveling with a caravan of migrants gave birth in San Diego after crossing illegally to the United States to seek asylum.

Maryuri was more than seven months pregnant when she left Honduras with her husband, Miguel, and their three-year-old son. The family spent weeks traveling north on foot and by bus until they arrived in Tijuana.

“He was born here in San Diego,” Maryuri said, holding her eight-day-old daughter, a US citizen by birth, in an interview with Telemundo 20.

The already difficult journey to reach the United States became even more complicated for the family due to Maryuri’s pregnancy.

After spending time in a Tijuana shelter, the couple said they did not feel safe, surrounded by some Mexicans who were hostile to their presence and decided to cross the border illegally.

According to Customs and Border Protection officials, on Monday, November 26, agents assigned to patrol the coast of Imperial Beach saw the pregnant woman trying to cross.

It was around 8:00 pm when the couple requested asylum in the United States and was taken into custody, they said.

Maryuri said she did not know that the next day she would give birth to her second child in a hospital in San Diego.

“The day we crossed I felt a little pain, but I thought it would be because of my nerves,” said Maryuri. The next morning, the pain increased and the woman was transferred to a hospital in San Diego, according to CBP.

Finally the baby was born on November 27, 2018.

Maryuri said that the CBP agents closed all the windows and stood guard at the door at all times. When the hospital officials brought her and the baby with food or clothing, the agents checked everything.

Miguel was allowed to visit his wife and newborn son on the third day of his stay and when Maryuri was discharged from the hospital, she was sent back to a detention center to complete her asylum application.

The family was released on Saturday in the United States until a judge can see their asylum application.

(machine translation of article from Frontera newspaper of Tijuana)
Baby born to immigrant family in United States