A few days ago, the police in Tijuana, Mexico, announced that eight American minors, as well as their parents, were living inside a car in terrible conditions. According to official information, the family spent several days among garbage, rotten food and insects caused by the dirt.
After the discovery, Beatriz, from 35 years old, a United States citizen from Los Angeles, California, and Jesús Noriega, 40 years old, a Mexican citizen from Tijuana were arrested near Ferrocarril Avenue and Cuauhtémoc Norte Boulevard in the Libertad neighborhood.
The minors, of 15, 11, 7, 6, 5, 4, and 7 months, were rescued for children’s services and kept them in a shelter.
In an interview with Telemundo, Noriega said, a victim of deportation: “They deported me, they (my children) came to be with me.”
The immigrant father indicated that they did have a home, but they could not spend more time in that place: “We were living with an aunt and we can no longer stay there.”
Neighbors in the area told the same outlet that the Noriega family lived in the car for at least three weeks and that they could not believe the conditions in which the large family was.
“There were many clothes, many things inside. While the two people (the parents) slept, the children played inside the vehicle,” said a witness from the area where the family settled.
Regarding the case of the Noriega family, the Salesian breakfast restaurant that serves 800 breakfasts in Tijuana to homeless people has announced that for some time now there has been a considerable increase in Americans in its facilities.
“Perhaps to keep a family together they ended up on the street, because what we understand is that they were united, yes, they did not want to separate,” said Claudia Portela, administrator of the dining room.
The father of the minors, including one just 7 months old and a child with autism, hope to find support from an institution: “It is very difficult to find a three-room house, but right now we are waiting to see, God willing, if someone wants to help us or there is something better ahead”.
The juvenile authorities have announced that the Noriega family does not will be separated because their economic desperation led them to look for a way to live, but always together.