Sunday, May 21, 2023 12:01AM
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — The journey to the Roosevelt Hotel has been a long one — two months to be exact – for Semana Rubulo and her daughters.
Rubulo says the reason she came to America was to find safety and a better healthcare system – something she could not find in Haiti.
The Roosevelt Hotel has been transformed into a stopping ground for asylum seekers.
On Saturday, Army soldiers assisted men to their next destination on their journey.
Inside, Rubulosays they helped her with some paperwork and provided her and her family two meals. She says she has plans to meet with family.
Over at the Met, project Rousseau founder Andrew Heinrich and his team hosted an asylum declaration workshop to help families with the documents needed to be granted asylum. Specifically, their focus was on helping migrants work on their client declaration.
“One of the other extremely important documents is the client declaration, where the client explains what happened to them and why they’re fleeing persecution and why they fear persecution should they return to their home country, in their own words,” Heinrich said.
Alexander Frias just arrived in New York City after living in Peru for seven years. He is seeking asylum from the Dominican Republic. He explained his goal in the United States is to seek other opportunities he could not find elsewhere.
At the Roosevelt Hotel, those seeking opportunities will have a long road, but say life in America is better – despite everything they have been through.
WATCH: NYC officials call on White House for help with migrant placement
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