According to recent reports, many illegal immigrants who have flooded the streets of America’s “sanctuary cities” are returning to their native countries. Apparently, the migrants who came seeking a better life are discovering the American dream is not what they anticipated.
The Chicago Tribune conducted a variety of interviews with illegal border crossers who have sought a new life in the Windy City, gauging the sentiments of the over 20,000 migrants. According to some of the testimonies, they wish they had never come to Chicago in the first place.
Insufficient infrastructure to support the massive inflow of illegal immigrants, the brutal winters of Chicago, and mixed local feelings toward the presence of the foreign border crossers have pushed some of the migrants to return to their former countries. For example, Michael Castejon, a 39-year-old Venezuelan, described the harsh conditions he and his family have dealt with since arriving at the sanctuary city.
“The American Dream doesn’t exist anymore. There’s nothing here for us,” Castejon explained. “We didn’t know things would be this hard. I thought the process was faster,” he said when discussing the issue of obtaining a job permit.
Castejon outlined the dire circumstances where his family has been sleeping on the floors of police stations and shelters. “How many more months of living in the streets will it take? No, no more. It’s better that I leave. At least I have my mother back home,” he added. “We just want to be home. If we’re going to be sleeping in the streets here, we’d rather be sleeping in the streets over there.”
The Castejon family decided that after five months in Chicago with no signs of their conditions improving, they would be best to return to South America. With the harsh winter climate fast approaching, many other border crossers in a similar predicament have made the same decision to flee the sanctuary city.
Reportedly, at least 40 individuals have left Chicago’s 1st District station this past month to either flee elsewhere in the interior of the United States or return to their home country. Those familiar with the migrant situation claim the city’s resources have been depleted as they have struggled to keep up with the number of migrants entering the city.
Other American sanctuary cities have expressed similar concerns, claiming they are at capacity with their overflowing migrant population. For example, New York City Democrat Mayor Eric Adams has stated the strain the Big Apple is facing may “destroy” the city. The mayor has also criticized Joe Biden’s federal government for not taking substantive action to mitigate the nationwide crisis.
“Let me tell you something, New Yorkers. Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I don’t see an ending to this. I don’t see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City,” Adams said. “We’re getting 10,000 migrants a month … Now we’re getting people from all over the globe have made their minds up that they’re going to come through the southern part of the border and come into New York City.”
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