"The American Dream doesn’t exist anymore," Castejon lamented. "There’s nothing here for us. We just want to be home."

The Venezuelan couple expected to come to this country and be handed all sorts of wonderful benefits, and they especially wanted their daughter enrolled in a free U.S. school.

Instead, when they got to Chicago, they discovered that the city had been pushed to the edge, far past its ability to service the multitude of illegals arriving there. The Castejons were relegated to the floor of a police station for a while, then shunted to another temporary shelter.

They also tried to go off on their own, but neither of the Castejon adults could find work that paid enough long-term to afford rent payments. And without a legal work permit, they were unable to find steady full-time jobs. Then they ended up back on the floor of another police station.

Also, like many other illegal border crossers, Castejon is shocked that local residents are beginning to rise up to loudly oppose the tidal wave of illegals flooding the city. And with city services stretched so thin, local neighbors increasingly eyeing them with suspicion, and opportunities for work drying up, they feel that their dangerous trek northward was a waste of time.

Castejon complained to the Tribune reporters that he expected to be handed many more benefits -- good food, a free place to live, an easy job and quick legal status. But none of this happened.