SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A migrant family recently evicted from Cesar Chavez Park after spending several nights in a tent there was just hours away from being back on the streets.
ABC 10News introduced you to Carmen Paniagua and her family before they were placed in a National City hotel last week. On Wednesday, 10News anchor Aaron Dickens spent the day with the family as they prepared to leave the hotel, not knowing where they would be able to stay.
Although their situation still seemed uncertain, the family received good news on Wednesday afternoon.
We follow them as they accept the generosity of a local charity.
Aaron Dickens — ABC 10News
Paniagua, her husband and their three children went about their day in fear, believing they would have to leave the hotel by Thursday morning.
“In the hotel they felt calm and peaceful. They knew where they would sleep,” says Paniagua.
Paniagua says the hotel room gave her hope since the family shelters in the San Diego area where they wanted to go were full.
“Why don’t these families have the means?” asked Dickens.
“These are probably the first weeks or months they’ll spend in the United States,” says Ian Seruelo of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium. “They have no family or friends.”
Seruelo works with many families like Paniagua’s who are seeking asylum.
“Even if they seek asylum, will they receive support from the city or the state?” asked Dickens.
“No, they don’t. The problem is that they are not allowed to work legally,” says Seruelo. “They are only allowed to work after they have applied for asylum. Most of them are waiting for their court date.”
On Wednesday afternoon, the Catholic Charities charity contacted the family and offered them an extended stay at the hotel until the group could find suitable long-term accommodation for them.
Paniagua says before the charity intervened, the only official help they had received was someone dropping them off at the hotel.
“They started looking for a job but couldn’t find one anywhere locally,” she says.
Staying in the National City area is especially helpful for the family because their children attend Perkins Elementary School in Barrio Logan. The school is just a few blocks from Cesar Chavez Park, where they slept in tents earlier this month.
ABC 10News
