SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A migrant family that was recently kicked out of Cesar Chavez Park after spending several nights in a tent there was just hours away from going back on the streets.
ABC 10News introduced you to Carmen Paniagua and her family before they were placed in a hotel in National City 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'd be able to stay.
As it seemed like their situation was still up in the air, the family received good news Wednesday afternoon.
We follow through as they embrace the generosity from a local charity.
Paniagua, her husband and three children were anxious as they went about their day, believing they had to leave the hotel by Thursday morning.
"In the hotel — they were feeling tranquil and peaceful. They knew where they were going to sleep," Paniagua says.
Paniagua says the hotel room gave her hope, since the family shelters around San Diego they tried to go to were full.
"Why don't these families have resources?" asked Dickens.
"This is probably the first few weeks or months they are in the United States," says Ian Seruelo of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium. "They don't have any families or friends."
Seruelo works with many families like Paniagua's, who are seeking asylum.
"Even if they are seeking asylum do they get resources from the city or state?" Dickens asked.
"No they don't. The thing is — they are not authorized to work legally," Seruelo says. "It is only after they submit their asylum application they are able to work. Most of them are waiting for their court date."
Wednesday afternoon, the Catholic Charities organization contacted the family, offering them an extended stay at the hotel until the group can secure suitable long-term shelter for them.
Paniagua says before the charity stepped in, the only official resource they've received so far was someone dropping them off at the hotel.
"They have gone out to find a job, but they haven't been able to find anywhere here locally," she says.
Staying in the National City area is especially helpful for the family, because their kids attend Perkins Elementary School in Barrio Logan. The school is just a few blocks away from Cesar Chavez Park, where they were sleeping in tents at the beginning of the month.
