STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Days after Lucia Garcia was arraigned from a hospital bed on charges stemming from a disturbing incident involving her newborn baby, she told reporters she didn’t know she was pregnant. Which, according to one local advocate, is possible.
Authorities say Garcia, 21, of New Dorp, abandoned the child in a trash can May 20 after giving birth in a lobby bathroom at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze. The defendant, who sources identified as a migrant who arrived in the U.S. 10 months ago from Mexico, allegedly told police in sum and substance, “I gave birth to the baby and put the baby in the garbage.”
She’s charged with second-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. Prosecutors stated in open court earlier this month that the child might need medical care for the rest of his life due to injuries sustained in the ordeal.
Over the weekend, Garcia told the New York Post she didn’t know she was pregnant and didn’t realize she dropped the newborn in the trash receptacle. “I thought it was just blood,” she said in Spanish. “I didn’t know I put my baby in the trash until the nurse told me later.”
At her May 22 arraignment in Criminal Court, St. George, Judge John McPadden ordered Garcia be placed on supervised release, after telling prosecutors that information about possible familial ties in Mexico is “off the table” so long as they’re being sourced to New York City news outlets.
The case was adjourned to June 16.
‘ANY NUMBER OF REASONS...,’ SAYS S.I. ADVOCATE
A leading advocate for newly arrived immigrants on Staten Island noted recently that “there’s any number of reasons why this could have happened.”
It’s possible the young woman in fact didn’t know she was pregnant for any length of time, due to a lack of health education available in impoverished parts of the world, coupled with a stigma in many families of discussing sex, said Michelle Molina, executive director of El Centro del Inmigrante.
“She could be coming with her own set of concerns from this trip from her native country,” said Molina. “And when they come here to the U.S., there’s also that fear,” added Molina. “And all the challenges they feel when it comes to their health.”
In a general sense, she said, it’s important to note that many migrant women escaping hardships in their homeland are at some point victimized by those aiding in their passage. “I can’t tell you the amount of sexual abuse that most of these women go through before coming here, because they need to cross or need to go somewhere or are sexually attacked,” she said.
“This is one of the reasons we try to advocate for physical and mental health services.”
New York City has seen an influx in recent months of migrants traveling from other parts of the country and internationally to New York City as officials struggle to deal with the ongoing crisis.
The city has housed new arrivals at multiple locations on Staten Island including two hotels in Travis. The vacant Richard H. Hungerford School in Clifton has become a temporary home to asylum seekers, according to borough elected officials.
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