Migrants U-turn on American Dream as they RETURN HOME after finding 'nothing for us here'
Hundreds of asylum seekers temporarily stay at the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois
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A growing number of migrants who have crossed the US-Mexico border have returned home after a disheartening experience of the American Dream.
Venezuelans have been among tens of thousands of migrants arriving in the United States in recent years.
Michael Castejon, 39, revealed he, his wife and teenage stepdaughter spent five months sleeping either in a police precinct or a crowded city shelter in Chicago.
He was unable to secure a job permit or enroll his daughter at a school in the Windy City.
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“The American Dream doesn’t exist anymore,” Castejon told The Chicago Tribune.
“There’s nothing here for us … We just want to be home.”
He added: “If we’re going to be sleeping in the streets here, we’d rather be sleeping in the streets over there.”
More than 20,000 migrants have made their way to Chicago since August 2022.
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Migrants crossing the US borderREUTERS
A large influx of migrants arrived at the Windy City after Texas Governor Greg Abbott began loading them on buses and shipping them to sanctuary cities.
Many migrants ended up sleeping at O’Hare International Airport, at local police stations or in the streets.
Castejon eventually opted to turn to Catholic Charities to obtain plane tickets for his family to travel to Texas.
The 39-year-old hopes to return to his native Venezuela.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has torn into Biden over the migrant crisisREUTERS“How many more months of living in the streets will it take? No, no more. It’s better that I leave,” he said.
“At least I have my mother back home.”
Jose Nauh, 22, also returned to Texas earlier this month after sleeping in a police station in Chicago for more than two weeks.
Illinois’ Democratic Governor JB Pritzker heaped pressure on US President Joe Biden last month.
US President Joe BidenPAIn a scathing letter, Pritzker accused Washington of failing to provide adequate assistance to the Windy City.
“The humanitarian crisis is overwhelming our ability to provide aid to the refugee population,” Pritzker wrote.
“Unfortunately, the welcome and aid Illinois has been providing to these asylum seekers has not been matched with support by the federal government.”
He also noted that more than $330million had already been spent by the state to house and feed the migrants.