A Wisconsin city asks for help from Biden after the arrival of about 1,000 illegal immigrants
In a letter to the president, Whitewater leaders highlighted several economic, security and housing issues that have arisen.
The City of Whitewater, Wisconsin, is making an urgent appeal to the White House amid the growing influx of immigrants that have arrived in the town, creating economic, housing and crime problems that affect the life of the community.
In a letter to President Joe Biden, city leaders, led by Police Chief Dan Meyer, expressed concern about the "rapid increase in the population of immigrants arriving from Nicaragua and Venezuela."
The text highlights that, despite the various individual reasons for emigrating, the approximately 1,000 immigrants arriving since 2022 require resources, generating significant pressure on the city.
Whitewater leaders emphasize that their focus as a municipal government is not on the legal status these people may have but on the difficulties they are creating for the community.
"Our focus is not on legal status, but rather ensuring we are providing the resources expected of a municipality to all residents of the City. Unfortunately, we are increasingly finding it difficult to do that," the letter states.
The letter also mentions that the police have suffered obstacles in areas such as communication, transportation, housing and identification. He also emphasizes that there are a large number of illegal immigrants who drive without a license on the road, provide false documents and try to deceive the authorities.
Additionally, an increase in serious crimes related to immigrants is reported. "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," the text states.
The letter insists on the need for more staff, especially in the police department, as well as funds for programs aimed at "improving the quality of life of our immigrants."
The letter gathered signatures from members of the Whitewater Common Council and is expected to be sent to Biden and other national representatives. This request joins the requests for help from other cities throughout the country, showing how the immigration crisis affects diverse communities.
50 Texas counties have declared an invasion
In the state of Texas alone, 50 counties have declared an "invasion" due to the number of migrants who have arrived in the country illegally. Counties demand the federal government protect states from the border crisis.
"The invasion is unsustainable and threatens the lives of our citizens (...) [we] cannot absorb the socio-economic costs and criminal impact resulting from ... an unsecure and open border," insist officials from the counties of: Atascosa, Bandera, Burnet, Chambers, Clay, Collin, Crockett, Ector, Edwards, Ellis, Fannin, Franklin, Frio, Goliad, Hamilton, Hardin, Harrison, Hood, Hunt, Jack, Jasper, Johnson, Karnes, Kinney, La Salle, Lavaca, Leon, Liberty, Live Oak, Madison, McMullen, Medina, Montague, Navarro, Orange, Parker, Presidio, Schleicher, Shackelford, Somervell, Terrell, Throckmorton, Tyler, Uvalde, Van Zandt, Waller, Wharton, Wichita, Wilson and Wise.