(Headline USA) Illegal immigrants in Chicago blasted the sanctuary city for failing to provide to them, saying they plan to return to Venezuela as a result of poor conditions.
One Venezuelan migrant, Michael Castejon, 39, said he arrived in Chicago expecting to be offered job opportunities, housing and education for his children. But after several months, Castejon said he was giving up and returning with his family to the socialist South American country run by dictator Nicolás Maduro.
“The American Dream doesn’t exist anymore,” Castejon complained, according to the Chicago Tribune. “There’s nothing here for us. 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.”
Ostensibly, many of the migrants fleeing Venezuela did so seeking asylum and indicated to agents at the U.S. border upon arrival that they had a “credible fear” in their homeland.
However, many are believed to be exploiting and abusing loopholes in the asylum system after having been coached by left-wing open-border activists who hope to overwhelm the system.
Thus far, an estimated 10 million illegals have been allowed into the nation’s interior during the Biden presidency, far outpacing any previous presidential administration.
That has led even far-left officials like Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to declare that the city has reached its maximum capacity and to ask the Biden administration for help covering the cost.
Other migrants confirmed they were disappointed by Chicago’s response to the massive influx of illegals who arrived in the city this year. They claimed the were led to believe that they would be granted asylum immediately and even receive a work permit.
“We didn’t know things would be this hard,” Castejon said. “I thought the process was faster.”
More than 20,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in Chicago since August 2022, according to city officials.
Though the city has declared itself a “sanctuary city,” several leaders have complained that the migrants are depleting Chicago of its resources.
“We’re spending a lot of money every single day,” 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale said during a Chicago City Council meeting in November. “I think up to $40 million a month, ladies and gentlemen.”
In October, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker accused the federal government of failing to provide adequate assistance to Chicago.
“The humanitarian crisis is overwhelming our ability to provide aid to the refugee population,” Pritzker wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden. “Unfortunately, the welcome and aid Illinois has been providing to these asylum seekers has not been matched with support by the federal government.”
The influx of migrants has forced the city to house migrants at O’Hare Airport, police stations and youth athletic complexes.
“We just want to be home,” Castejon said. “If we’re going to be sleeping in the streets here, we’d rather be sleeping in the streets over there.”
