(The Center Square) – A letter from Whitewater’s police chief is getting new attention as two of Wisconsin’s congressmen are again focusing on illegal immigration.
Northwoods Congressman Tom Tiffany shared the letter with a warning about the flood of illegal immigrants who’ve come into the U.S. during President Biden’s three years in office.
“By releasing migrants into small towns in Wisconsin, Joe Biden’s border crisis is piling new costs on local taxpayers,” Tiffany said on social media.
Tiffany included a link to a story published about the 1,000 immigrants from Nicaragua and Venezuela who’ve come to Whitewater over the past few months.
“Wisconsinites cannot continue footing the bill for Biden’s failed immigration policies,” Tiffany added.
Whitewater’s police chief sounded the same alarm about his city’s immigration problems in a letter to President Biden last week.
“Whitewater is a small city of approximately 15,000 people. Since early 2022 the city has seen a rapid increase in the population of immigrants arriving from Nicaragua and Venezuela. We estimate that there are roughly 800 to 1,000 individuals who arrived here in that short time,” Chief Daniel Meyer wrote in his letter. “Each individual has a different reason for coming here; some are fleeing from a corrupt government, others are simply looking for a better opportunity to prosper. Regardless of the individual situations, these people need resources like anyone else, and their arrival has put great strain on our existing resources.”
Meyer said the influx of immigrants has led to a spike in crime in Whitewater.
“We have found approximately three-times the number of unlicensed drivers on our roadways compared to previous years. This occupies much of [our officers’] time and takes away from our ability to serve in other aspects,” the chief added. “Our law enforcement staff have responded to a number of serious crimes linked to immigrants in some manner, including the death of an infant child, multiple sexual assaults, and a kidnapping.”
Southern Wisconsin Congressman Bryan Steil spent his Tuesday at the southern border, he said to see the immigration problem for himself.
On Sunday, just four days after the chief’s letter, Steil too warned about an influx of illegal immigrants to the area.
“355 migrants arrived at the Rockford airport 20 miles from Beloit, WI. Biden’s open border impacts every state and community in the country,” Syeil said on social media.
Meyer asked Bidden for help in dealing with the immigrants already in Whitewater. He didn’t say anything in his letter about closing the border or stopping the flow of people to southern Wisconsin.
