EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A Haitian asylum-seeker has been cleared to leave a hospital after giving birth inside an airplane landing in Juarez, Mexico.
The unexpected delivery occurred last Friday in an Aeromexico aircraft flying Wilene Tilus and Dieumete Santil from Mexico City to Juarez in anticipation of the couple’s upcoming interview with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in El Paso.
A video posted on social media shows passengers aboard the flight clapping after a flight attendant announced the birth of the baby. A separate clip shows airplane staff assisting the woman with her baby in the front seats of the aircraft.
The 42-year-old mom and her baby were taken from the airport to a state hospital; the baby later was transferred to Hospital Infantil children’s hospital for observation due to the premature birth. The mother and her son, Jennytson, were released over the weekend.
Wilene and Dieumete have their U.S. immigration appointment on Tuesday. The couple told Chihuahua state authorities they fled Haiti due to increasing street violence and fear for their lives.