Venezuelan migrant family regrets coming to the U.S. as American Dream becomes too difficult to reach for illegals

11/16/2023 / By Ramon Tomey

Many border crossers who found themselves in Chicago after unlawfully entering the U.S. are starting to regret their decision – with some heading back home to their countries of origin.

The Chicago Tribune recently featured the story of the Castejon family, who left their home in Venezuela to start anew in the United States. Patriarch Michael Castejon, 39, arrived with his family – including step-daughter Andrea Carolina Sevilla – in the Windy City five months ago so she can have access to a better education. Sevilla said she was lucky to even have attended school in Venezuela, as many other teenagers start working early to help out their families.

The Castejons found themselves on the floor of a police station, a crowded shelter and a house they rented before returning to the same police station where they began. According to Castejon, the family decided to seek asylum in the U.S. because of the extreme poverty under Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro – something that he later said wasn’t worth it.

“The American Dream doesn’t exist anymore,” Castejon told the Tribune on the afternoon of Nov. 2. “There’s nothing here for us. We didn’t know things would be this hard. 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.”

Castejon said his family just wants to be home. “If we’re going to be sleeping in the streets here, we’d rather be sleeping in the streets over there,” he said.

Many migrants regret decision to head to Chicago

According to the Tribune, Castejon and his family are “among the countless number of migrants who have chosen to leave Chicago in recent weeks in their search for a better life. They’re looking for warmer weather, more resources or to reunite with friends and family in other places.”

“One family of five left for Detroit because another migrant told them there was work there. One man went back to Texas, where he will join his cousins after trying his luck in Chicago. In the past month, at least 40 people … have left Chicago.”

Twenty-two-year-old Jose Nauh tried his luck in Chicago after hearing that there was shelter, food and other public benefits. “That’s not true,” he said, with the Tribune revealing that he slept in a police station in the Windy City for more than two weeks. Fortunately, Nauh had family in Houston to return to.

Diana Vera, another migrant, found herself leaving Chicago with her three children and daughter-in-law. The five boarded a bus to Detroit, another sanctuary city, with the hope that a cousin would take them in once they arrived. “We heard that there are a lot of jobs over there, even if you don’t have a permit,” she told the Tribune.

Vera was also discouraged from staying in Chicago any longer after hearing stories from other migrants about crowded shelters, cold food, and the lack of real beds. “It sounds worse than sleeping at the police station,” she remarked. (Related: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson plans to relocate 1,600 illegal immigrants into special tent communities.)

“Like many people, we’re just here for a better life,” said Ana, a Venezuelan teacher who came to Chicago in September. The teacher, who spoke in Spanish through a translator, tried her luck in the Windy City because she couldn’t afford to live on the pay she was making at home.

“I am here to continue to advocate for Chicago to be a sanctuary city; for there to be resources for everyone, [including] for us immigrants to continue to receive the help that we deserve.”

However, Ana’s wish might only remain a pipe dream. Chicagoans are speaking out against the city’s plan to retain its status as a sanctuary city. They argue that taxpayer money directed toward unlawful border crossers ought to be utilized for the benefit of city residents.

Watch this clip of a hotel in Chicago refusing customers in favor of illegals bused to the sanctuary city.

This video is from the Puretrauma357 channel on Brighteon.com.