An undocumented Guatemalan teenager who abandoned her newborn baby in a Houston dumpster, cited fear of deportation as the reason she avoided seeking medical care, per an exclusive interview with the Washington Post. The incident is part of a broader, troubling trend in Texas, where local officials have described infant abandonment cases as an "epidemic" despite safe haven laws intended to prevent such tragedies.
In July, authorities found a newborn boy in a dumpster near a Houston apartment complex. His mother, Everilda Cux-Ajtzalam, was captured on security footage giving birth behind a taco truck, using trash bags to handle the baby, and disposing of him in a dumpster.
