...
By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
A teenager who gave birth while working at a food truck in Houston, before putting the newborn in a trash bag and leaving him in a dumpster, is an illegal immigrant who arrived as an unaccompanied minor, according to court documents seen by Newsweek.
Everilda Cux-Ajtzalam, 18, went into labor, gave birth and then allegedly went back to work at the taco truck while the baby cried inside the tied-up bag on July 21.
The incident was caught on surveillance footage, according to court documents, with a passerby hearing the child and scooping him out of the trash.
Read More on News
Cux-Ajtzalam allegedly told Houston police that she "had no other choice" because she didn't want her boyfriend to break up with her.
...
The stranger who found the baby, dumped along with the placenta and umbilical cord, called first responders, who were then reportedly seen wrapping the newborn in blankets while his hair was still damp.
The child was taken to a local hospital and was in good health, ABC 13 reported. Newsweek reached out to the Harris County public defender's office for further comment Friday morning.
His mother was arrested on July 23 and charged with abandoning a child without intent to return and she is being held on a $200,000 bond.
"It was pure luck that the child was found and received care," Judge Veronica Nelson said during Cux-Ajtzalam's first appearance before the court on Friday July 26.
The Houston Chronicle reported that three other babies were found abandoned around the city in June, with some groups raising concerns that they were left because of Texas' strict abortion laws.
Cux-Ajtzalam was found to have a mental health issue within the past year, according to court documents, which also stated that she was banned from contacting her family or interacting with the baby.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a detainer on Cux-Ajtzalam, who is reported to have entered the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor.
A spokesperson for ICE confirmed that the 18-year-old had entered the U.S. illegally as a minor from Guatemala.
The detainer means that local law enforcement has to give ICE notice that an illegally immigrant is going to be released from their custody, so that Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) can step in and take custody of that individual.
If convicted of the third-degree felony, Cux-Ajtzalam faces up to ten years in prison before likely removal proceedings initiated by ICE.
Since October 2023, ICE has removed 65,983 illegal immigrants, with the largest proportion being from Guatemala.
Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines