‘They told me I was having an emergency abortion’: Pregnant migrant recalls 2,500-mile journey to New York
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Veronica, a 22-year-old who is six months pregnant with a baby boy, escaped her politically polarized homeland of Venezuela on July 22, taking a 16-day journey to the southern border and then a three-day bus ride across America alone. The pregnant woman trekked more than 2,500 miles from her home to the US-Mexico border hoping for a "stable life".
"The journey was very difficult," Veronica, told The New York Post through a translator at Port Authority in Manhattan on Wednesday, August 17. "As I was traveling through different countries, many of them did not want to let us through and for me, expecting a child, that was very difficult." The young woman, who requested that her last name not be disclosed for fear of being deported, was one of hundreds of border-crossers sent to shelter cities such as New York and Washington DC by Texas Gov Greg Abbott as part of an ongoing political squabble over President Biden's border policies.
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"When I arrived at the border, I got some basic medical attention. They told me I was at a risk of losing my pregnancy and may be having to have an emergency abortion and obviously that was very upsetting and so this was a very traumatic experience for me.” The bus left Texas on August 7 and arrived in New York three days later.
It was one of 15 buses carrying 800 migrants that Abbott sent to East Coast cities in recent weeks. The first busload of migrants arrived just days after New York City Mayor Eric Adams declined Texas Governor Rick Perry's invitation to visit the border to "see firsthand the dire situation." "I'm looking to create a life here in New York, a stable life for myself and my child,” said Veronica, wearing a white "I Love NY" t-shirt.
Veronica's dreams, however, are now on hold as she awaits an October date in the immigration court to apply for asylum — all while staying at a Manhattan homeless shelter. Expressing concern for the health of her unborn child, she said, "When I first arrived, the [people] that stepped up to provide things like food, clothing [and] water were groups of volunteers. The support dwindled as I came to rely on the shelter system."
“Beyond the physical space, I’m not receiving any kind of support for my soon-to-be-born child. I’m still searching for ways to support my child — things like diapers [and] food,” Veronica said. She stated that she had received little food while at the shelter, aside from cans of tuna and ramen noodles. She also stated that the shelter asked her not to share its address, making it difficult to seek assistance from outside the system.
"What if I need additional help that the city can’t provide me, what if I feel pain and want to ask someone I trust to come and visit me? Now I feel like I won’t be able to do that,” she said. Veronica stated that she escaped Venezuela in favor of the Big Apple while in her third trimester due to the crisis in her country. "I'm looking out for my child and looking out for the best future for him — that’s what really motivated me to seek a trip here and to seek opportunities here," she said.
According to Jorge Muniz, a volunteer who has been advocating for Veronica and other migrants who walked into the city, City Hall was ignoring the situation that migrants face in the shelter system. "I think it speaks a lot to the mayor’s priority that he showed out for a photo op and isn’t showing up in a space like a shelter system to actually see for himself what is happening, where the migrants are ending up," Muniz said.
Adams arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal on Sunday, August 14, to greet a bus of migrants, only to discover that many had disembarked before reaching New York City. He previously requested that the Biden administration send "additional resources immediately" to assist the city "as we serve both a rapidly growing shelter population and new clients seeking asylum."
A City Hall spokesperson said, "We're continuing to see people arrive off buses without having had access to adequate food, water, or medical care and we will continue to step up to meet these needs and welcome all asylum seekers arriving in New York City with open arms."