Chicago has become so unpleasant that migrants are fleeing back to Venezuela after being placed in shelters and denied better-paying jobs.
Since August last year, 20,700 migrants have arrived in Chicago since the city opened its sanctuary city status – a Democratic-run city to which Texas Governor Abbott was able to bus asylum seekers.
Now, Illinois’ harsh winters, lack of infrastructure for migrants and mixed support from locals have led many people who made the tough journey across the U.S.-Mexico border to actually turn around and return home .
Venezuelan-born Michael Castejon, 39, and his family slept on the floors of police stations and shelters after he couldn’t afford rent in Chicago because of the long wait to get his work permit.
The family rented an apartment through a city voucher program that provides up to $15,000 for up to six months of rental assistance – but when the deadline expired, they had to give up their space.
The father found a job in construction and was paid in cash, but it was not enough to support his family as they arrived in June.
Venezuelan-born Michael Castejon, 39, (pictured in red jacket) and his family have been sleeping on the floors of police stations and shelters after he couldn’t afford the rent – because it took so long for him to pay his rent Received a work permit
Since August last year, 20,700 migrants have arrived in Chicago since the city opened its sanctuary city status – a Democratic-run city to which Texas Governor Abbott was able to bus asylum seekers
After five months of rough living with no end in sight, the family decided to pack up their belongings and return to South America when they realized that “there is nothing for us here.”
Castejon said the failed trip to the United States was not worth it, despite the extreme poverty and authoritarian regime they lived under in Venezuela.
After months of begging for money and crossing borders, the dreams he had heard about from other migrants did not come true for him, he revealed.
Michael Castejon, 39, told the Chicago Tribune: “The American dream no longer exists.” There is nothing here for us.
“We didn’t know it would be so difficult. “I thought the process would be quicker,” he said of the work permit situation in Chicago.
“How many more months will it take to live on the streets?” No, not anymore. It’s better that I go. At least I have my mother back home.
“We just want to be home.” “If we’re going to sleep on the street here, we’d rather sleep over there.”
Castejon’s stepdaughter, Andrea Carolina Sevilla, was unable to find a school to enroll in when she arrived in the United States, although one reason they left her homeland was to give her a better education.
As winter approaches, the mayor has opened camps for migrants, some of which will be housed in black and Hispanic neighborhoods
Tens of thousands of migrants have been sent to the sanctuary city by Texas Governor Abbott and nongovernmental organizations in states like Colorado and New York
He’s not the only migrant in Chicago who realizes the reality of seeking asylum isn’t what they imagined. Chicago’s cold weather is worsening – and many migrants still sleeping on the streets are forced to lie on wet, cold mattresses.
At least 40 people left Chicago’s 1st Ward train station last month with the help of Catholic Charities of Chicago to either move home or elsewhere in the United States.
According to the Tribune, migrants eat while standing and have to rub their hands together to keep warm due to a lack of facilities.
Brayan Lozano, head of the Police Station Response Team volunteer group, said: “The situation in Chicago is slowly spreading.”
Lozano said the city’s resources were depleted and the resettlement program could no longer handle the burden of the number of incoming migrants.
Another migrant, Jose Nauh, 22, was forced to sleep in a Chicago police station for two weeks before deciding to return to Texas. He’d moved to the Windy City to see the hustle and bustle for himself – but he soon realized that life wasn’t any better.
Diana Vera, who moved to Chicago with her three children and daughter-in-law, also decided to leave the city for better opportunities elsewhere. They had been living on the police station floor for a month.
Michael Castejon, 39, and his family while living in Venezuela
Castejon and many others decided to give up on Chicago after realizing it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be
Last month, Johnson quietly signed a $29 million contract with a security firm to build base camps for migrants
Most of the migrants arriving in Chicago last year came from Texas, largely under the direction of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott
The Windy City is struggling with over 11,000 migrants in shelters and 4,000 people housed in police stations and at O’Hare International Airport (pictured).
As Vera boarded a bus to Detroit, she said, “We heard there are a lot of jobs there, even if you don’t have a permit.”
This comes at a difficult time for Chicago and its residents.
Angry protesters stormed a Chicago City Council meeting last week amid debate over whether the city should remain a refuge for migrants.
The meeting was called after 9th District Councilman Anthony Beale — who leads a district on the predominantly black South Side — proposed an advisory referendum that would ask voters during the March primary whether Chicago would have its should retain status as a protected city.
Many residents expressed frustration over the millions of dollars the city spent on migrant shelters instead of on poor communities.
As of September, there were about 20 active migrant shelters in the city. Seven were on the historically underserved south and west sides.
More than 20,000 migrants have landed in Chicago since last year.
While most are from Venezuela, they come from all over the world, including Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
The city has allocated $4 million to help migrants find temporary housing, and the state has contributed another $38 million.
Since August 2022, Chicago has opened its doors to tens of thousands of migrants sent by Texas Governor Abbott and nongovernmental organizations to states such as Colorado and New York.
The majority are seeking asylum “due to U.S. foreign policy, which has created unstable economic and political conditions that threaten their safety and force them to travel thousands of miles to safety,” the city of Chicago website says.
It continues: “U.S. cities traditionally do not have the infrastructure to settle large numbers of immigrants and refugees.” That is the responsibility of the federal government.”