With false promises, Florida sent migrants to Sacramento a year ago. Where are they now?

“The support hasn’t really ended as a result of the fact that we’ve made friends among the group,” said Shireen Miles, a volunteer with Sacramento Area Congregations Together, the faith-based community organization that spearheaded support for the migrants. “And you don’t ever move on from your friends.”

‘Their new life here’

Most of the original 36 migrants, which included natives of Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and Venezuela, have left the capital region. Some moved to bigger cities such as Los Angeles, San Diego and Chicago, while others sought out smaller states such as South Carolina and Tennessee.

They left for a host of reasons, including California’s high cost of living, lack of employment opportunities and personal connections in other locations, according to Gabby Trejo, executive director for Sacramento ACT.

Twelve members of the group remain in Sacramento — some sharing hotel rooms, others living for free at their work sites in Folsom and Rio Linda and a group of four splitting the costs of a townhouse in Rancho Cordova. By staying in the region, these members of the group benefit.

“They know that they’re not alone, and there’s this larger community that sees them and wants them to be successful in their new life here in the U.S.,” Trejo said.

Take Jose Castellanos, 34, and his wife Margarita Yanez, 35. They are a recently married Venezuelan couple expecting a child this December. The two migrants have not paid for housing since arriving in Sacramento.

“It’s been a help, a huge help, I’ve seen rents for $1,500,” said Castellanos, while shaking his head.

During the initial weeks, they slept at a church alongside the other migrants. Sacramento ACT transitioned the group to motel rooms in Rancho Cordova. The organization raised roughly $307,000 in donations and grants over the last year to assist the migrants.

When that funding dropped to low levels last October, Opening Doors, an organization specializing in resettlement, offered to house 17 of the migrants for up to six months.

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