CHICAGO -- Carlos Ramirez, who was a police officer in Venezuela before he says he was persecuted by government officials, now sleeps on an air mattress on the floor of a police station in Chicago.
He and his wife Betzabeth Bracho have nestled their suitcases on a bench at the 5th District police station in Pullman. About seven weeks since arriving in Chicago from San Antonio, Texas, they have established a routine for themselves. They came to the city because they’d heard its sanctuary label made it a friendly place for migrants.
Before bed, they eat donated food and store-bought sandwiches in plastic containers, bathe in the public restroom, blow up their air mattress bed and call their two young sons across borders.
