19-Year-Old Traveling With Refugee Caravan Gives Birth In the U.S. After Crossing Border Illegally

Maryury Serrano Hernandez, a 19-year-old, traveling from Central America to the U.S. with the migrant refugee caravan, gave birth to a boy less than 24 hours after being detained for illegally crossing the border. She and her 20-year-old husband Miguel, and 2-year-old son, crossed the U.S./Mexico border on November 26 and were quickly detained by the U.S. border patrol.

The couple told Univision that agents didn’t believe she was 8 months pregnant and were insisting they to return back to Tijuana, but they informed them that they needed medical assistance. Maryury recalls that in that moment she was fearful of the agents because of the forceful manner in which they were speaking. Despite her fears, she was determined to give birth in the U.S. Less than a day after being detained, her son Michael was born.

After giving birth, the couple was told to return to the detention center, but Miguel recalls someone saying “the baby cannot go in there, he’s a U.S. citizen.” The couple have now been released to a family that is hosting them in San Diego. Eventually, when they have enough money, they would like to move to Columbus, Ohio, to be with family that is located there. Until then, the couple will remain in San Diego and await the judge’s ruling in their case. Miguel is being monitored with an ankle bracelet, though Maryury is not.

Miguel said that for weeks the situation in Tijuana seemed dire as they continued to wait for information on their asylum. According to Univision, Maryury began to get impatient and they both then decided to cross the border. While Maryury said the almost 2,000 mile journey from Honduras to the U.S. was arduous, having her baby born in the U.S. was worth it.

“I endured so much,” Maryury told the news program. “But look, thanks to God, my reward is tremendous.”