"Since August last year, 20,700 migrants have arrived in Chicago from Texas," the Daily Mail stated. "[Texas] Gov. Greg Abbott sent migrants to Chicago and other Democrat-run cities because of their proud status as 'sanctuary cities.'" Such cities, the tabloid added, "offer enhanced protection against detention or deportation for undocumented migrants."
But the Mail pointed out that Illinois' harsh winters, lack of infrastructure and ambivalent support from locals have convinced migrants who unlawfully entered the U.S. to return to their countries of origin. The tabloid recounted the story of 39-year-old Venezuelan Michael Castejon, one such migrant forced to return home.
The Castejons arrived in Chicago in June and managed to rent an apartment through a city voucher program that gives up to $15,000 in assistance for up to six months. But when the money ran out, the family gave up their living space. Since then, the family has been sleeping on the floors of police stations and shelters.
Castejon found a job in construction and was getting paid in cash, but realized that this wasn't enough to pay rent and sustain his family. Worse, his work permit had been taking too long to arrive. After five months of rough living, the Castejons packed up their belongings and returned to their home country.
"The American Dream doesn't exist anymore; there's nothing here for us," he told the Chicago Tribune. "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. 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."
Migrants forced to endure more brutal conditions in Chicago
Other migrants have also realized that the reality of asylum-seeking isn't what they had imagined. Twenty-two-year-old Jose Nauh was forced to sleep in a police station in Chicago for two weeks before deciding to return to Texas. He moved to the Windy City to start a new life, but it soon dawned on him that life there wasn't any better.
Diana Vera, another migrant, moved to Chicago with her three children and daughter-in-law and had been sleeping on the floor of a police station for a month. But the family of five decided to board a bus to Detroit to try their luck. "We heard that there are a lot of jobs over there, even if you don't have a permit."
As the winter weather nears, many migrants in Chicago who sleep on the streets are forced to lie on wet, cold mattresses. They eat standing and have to rub their hands together to keep warm due to the lack of facilities. Violent crime is also a serious concern in the Windy City, with migrants sleeping on the streets more vulnerable than most.
Moreover, Chicagoans have been pushing back against the continued influx of migrants in the self-proclaimed sanctuary city. In one instance, protesters stormed a meeting of the Chicago City Council during a debate that tackled the issue of the city being a sanctuary for migrants. The meeting was called after Alderman Anthony Beale proposed asking voters if Chicago should keep its sanctuary city status.
The city's progressives were outraged at the idea, but many of the city's residents – a significant percentage of them being ethnic minorities themselves – are keen to end Chicago's sanctuary cities status. Residents expressed frustration about the millions of dollars the Windy City is spending on migrant shelters. This money, they argued, should have been spent on the city's most impoverished communities. (Related: Chicago's Black community slams city officials over $51 million fund for migrants.)
Visit Migrants.news for more stories about the migrant influx in Chicago and other sanctuary cities.
Watch this segment from "The Five" on Fox News about migrants rejecting sanctuary cities.
This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Chicago mayor mulls sending ILLEGALS to suburbs in other counties.
GOVERNMENT WASTE: Workers at illegal migrant shelters in Chicago are earning up to $200 AN HOUR.
Chicago officials refuse to disclose how they spent $120M in taxpayer money on ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.
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