SAN DIEGO (KGTV — Harbor Police were out on the lawn at Cesar Chavez Park Wednesday morning. The Park is in Barrio Logan. It has been 24 hours since they gave the migrants living in tents a notice, they had to evacuate.
"They told us we had to leave at 10:30 tonight again," said Carmen Paniagua.
Carmen lives in the park with her husband and three children. They are from Nicaragua. We are learning more about how she got here. About a year and a half ago, Carmen says she walked through the mountains and crossed the border in Tecate. She is seeking asylum.
"A rattle snake almost bit my daughter," she said.
But once she arrived in the U.S. she had a tough road. Carmen says she stayed in three shelters. She was either kicked out because she could only stay for a short period of time, or she left on her own.
"They treated me like nothing, there was a lot of drugs. I did not feel safe," said Carmen
"It's a harsh environment to have children in that type of environment. You have to keep your things with you. A lot of people feel safer here at the park than at the shelter," said Ruth Mendez.
Mendez is a volunteer with Free Them All San Diego Coalition. She has been helping the migrants at the park. She says in many shelters, migrants are not a priority.
"City shelters are not equipped to receive migrant families with children. That should already be happening in San Diego. As a border city, we should already have some type of infrastructure," said Mendez.
