Xenia, a Cuban immigrant 37 weeks pregnant, began experiencing labor pains on the very day she was due to show up for her appointment to cross the border into the United States. An immigration attorney was able to get her admitted early and she was able to bring a baby into the world in El Paso, Texas.
Xenia, a Cuban immigrant 37 weeks pregnant and who had been waiting for her asylum case in Mexico for almost a year as part of the ‘Stay in Mexico’ program, began to feel labor pains on the same day that she had her appointment to cross the border. border to the US. After being rejected at a hospital in Ciudad Juárez, an immigration lawyer managed to get the US authorities to advance her admission and she was able to bring a baby into the world in El Paso, Texas.
Xenia’s pains began around 3 am last Thursday, almost five hours before the appointment that she and her husband Leandro had with the US border authorities to test them for covid-19 and then enter the US.
The pain increased and they decided to go to a hospital in Ciudad Juárez, where they were rejected for not having their passport valid. In addition, she demanded money to be treated.
Blanca Navarrete, director of the organization Integral Human Rights in Action (DHIA), pointed out that it is a common practice for the Ciudad Juárez Women’s Hospital to deny or condition medical attention to the payment of services to migrant and refugee women.
According to Xenia’s testimony, they didn’t even want to loan her a wheelchair. Univisión Noticias consulted the Chihuahua Health Secretariat, who indicated that it is investigating the events.
Amid their desperation, they decided to go to the border bridge to explain their situation and see if they would be allowed to enter before, but they also received a refusal.
